“Officers of the Tbilisi Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) have detained 13 individuals affiliated with various neo-Nazi groupings and adherents of fascist ideology, following a large-scale coordinated police operation in the capital,” announced the Head of the Tbilisi Police Department, Vazha Siradze, at a briefing. According to Siradze, those detained had subjected victims of various ages to physical and psychological violence of exceptional brutality. Seven of those arrested are minors. “In addition, within the framework of the ongoing criminal investigation into the same case, four further individuals already serving sentences in penitentiary institutions for analogous offences are to face additional charges, for organising and participating in group violence, based on evidence gathered. As a result of investigative activities conducted over several months, law enforcement established that members of these violent groupings identified themselves as neo-Nazis and were guided by fascist ideology. In pursuit of notoriety, the promotion of fascist ideology, and the expansion of influence within neo-Nazi networks, they displayed extreme radicalism towards their victims and subjected targets to violence of exceptional cruelty, using various blunt and sharp instruments, including batons and knuckledusters. They were particularly brutal towards those who did not share their fascist ideology. Furthermore, during attacks on victims, members of the radical groupings robbed them and extorted sums of money. Members of the groupings filmed the violence, torture, degrading treatment, and physical and psychological abuse inflicted upon their victims using mobile phones and deliberately published the material across various online platforms. It is noteworthy that, based on conflicts of interest and internal disputes, members of different neo-Nazi groupings also turned on one another with equal savagery, as confirmed by evidence gathered in the course of the ongoing investigation. As a result of these violent acts, nearly ten individuals have been recognised as victims, including two minors. During searches of the accused’s personal belongings and residential premises, the following were seized: firearms, sound-signal weapons and bladed weapons belonging to them, items bearing Nazi symbols, mobile phones, masks, and various electronic equipment.
via 1tv: Thirteen arrested in Tbilisi neo-Nazi crackdown, seven of them minors