A pro-EU protester fired a makeshift rocket launcher during a riot in Tbilisi
A camera operator for the Georgian public broadcaster has been injured by fireworks shot from a homemade rocket launcher wielded by one of the pro-EU opposition protesters in Tbilisi.
Supporters of opposition parties that lost the recent parliamentary elections have protested outside the parliament ever since Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced Tbilisi would suspend its membership talks with the EU until 2028. The protests have been growing progressively more violent, Georgian police have said.
On Tuesday evening, a masked and hooded demonstrator was spotted on the streets of Tbilisi with a “bazooka” made up of several large fireworks rocket launchers. RT cameras spotted him firing the crude weapon towards police.
According to Georgia’s Channel One, one of the rockets struck Beso Gaprindashvili, a camera operator for the outlet. Gaprindashvili suffered an arm injury and was taken to an area hospital for treatment.
Earlier in the day, the Constitutional Court of Georgia tossed out a lawsuit by President Salome Zourabichvili and opposition parties, dismissing their demand to annul the October 26 general election as unconstitutional.
READ MORE: Georgia’s top court refuses to annul election results
The protesters have accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of being “pro-Russian” and stealing the election, but have failed thus far to provide any evidence to support these claims.
