A protest in solidarity with Temur Katamadze, an activist, will be held today at 16:00 near the Temporary Accommodation Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Migration Department (Mikheil Gakhokidze 14).
Katamadze, known as the flag-bearer of the Batumi protests, has been on a hunger strike for 42 days in protest against the regime. Supporters and activists are gathering to demand justice and draw public attention to his condition.
Organizers of the demonstration urge citizens to join and make their voices heard, emphasizing the importance of standing up for political prisoners and human rights.
Katamadze was administratively detained on January 11 during a protest in Batumi against the government’s reversal on its EU path. He was sentenced to five days of administrative detention for allegedly disobeying a police officer’s orders.
In a letter to the local media outlet Batumelebi, Katamadze claimed that, in addition to being physically abused, law enforcement officers directed racial slurs at him.
Shortly after completing his administrative detention, he was re-arrested within minutes.
On January 17, Katamadze began a hunger strike in protest. The following day, the court sentenced him to three months in prison. Until a decision is made regarding his deportation, he will remain in a temporary detention center for foreigners in Tbilisi.
Katamadze is a descendant of Georgian Muslims who were deported from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. In his letter to Batumelebi, he stated that he has lived in Georgia since 2012 but, despite multiple attempts, has been unable to obtain Georgian citizenship.
