On May 1, 2024, the Ministry of Internal Affairs used active special equipment, including pepper spray, tear gas, pepper gas shells, rubber bullets and water cannon, against protesters  in the vicinity of the Parliament.

According to the guidelines on the behavior of the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs during assemblies and demonstrations, it is prohibited to use tear gas, pepper gas shells and hand grenades directly against a person who violates the law, or against a group of people, or their repeated use in a place where gas was fired, except in extreme cases when repeated use is necessary to protect a person or a group of persons from violence or to prevent other serious consequences.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs initially used special equipment on Chitadze Street, which was preceded by a small group of protestors throwing various objects in the yard of the legislative body and causing noise by pushing the gate. The law enforcement officers stationed in the Parliament yard used water cannon, a large amount of tear gas and pepper gas shells at the same time and against the requirements of instructions, more than once. The Ministry of Internal Affairs used the mentioned special equipment (water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets) at the same time and in large quantities against the protester who tried to hang the EU flag on the top of the Parliament gate.

The instructions also prohibit the use of non-lethal weapons and non-lethal shells against a person at a distance of twenty meters, as well as in areas of the body that are dangerous for health and life (head, neck, abdomen, genitals). The narrowness of Chitadze Street, the presence of law enforcement officers in the Parliament yard and the protesters  on the perimeter of the street did not allow for the protection of a 20-meter radius. This may well explain the extent of the injuries sustained by the protestors.

During assemblies and demonstrations, the primary obligation of law enforcement officers is to ensure the safety of people and act in accordance with the principles of lawfulness and proportionality. In addition, the person in charge of the relevant unit is obliged to use all the possibilities available to him for the prevention of alleged violations of law, which also implies negotiations with the participants/organizers of the rally. During the three-week protests, the relevant persons have not used this mechanism.

To avoid misleading the public, the Democracy Research Institute urges:

• To make public the legal grounds for the use of special measures and active special equipment, the goals and objectives of the special measure, as well as information about the used special equipment;
• To ensure the peaceful conduct of the rally; When identifying cases of violence on the part of demonstrators, to eliminate the offence by implementing local, individual measures, without interfering with the enjoyment of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution;
• To ensure that that superiors issue only legal instructions/orders and that relevant police forces do not follow illegal instructions of their direct supervisor.