Adjarian police search house of opposition activists

On March 25, at about 20:30 local time, officers of Adjaria's Khelvachaursky district police department conducted a search in the village of Charnali, in the house where the family of Muhamed Dumbadze lives. Muhamed's three sons - Bidzina, Suliko, and Zurab - are members of the Our Adjaria political movement, which is in the opposition to the autonomy's present leadership.

This is reported in the press release published by the movement's press service on March 25. Approximately 20 police officers armed with automatic weapons took part in the search, according to information of the movement.

A search warrant signed by the chief of the Khelvachaursky district police department, Merab Tsintsadze, was presented during the search in Dumbadze's house. "This warrant and correspondingly the search are illegal since in conformity with the Georgian legislation, a search warrant must be given by the court," reads the press release.

"The Our Adjaria movement rates the incident in the village of Charnali as provocation, an attempt to create the atmosphere of fear in the autonomy and to frustrate the March 28 elections for the Georgian parliament on the territory of Adjaria," reads the movement's press release.