You're reading: Georgian Embassy apologizes for beating Ukrainian photographer

The Georgian Embassy to Ukraine deplores the incident that recently took place during a gathering in front of the Embassy on 18 July 2011, during which a guard employed at the Embassy under contract physically assaulted people and a photographer who had gathered there.

According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia official website, the Georgian Embassy wishes to apologize to all concerned – those who attended the gathering, journalists and the Ukrainian people – for this deplorable incident, and, in addition, wishes to state that the guard in question has been dismissed from his post.

On Monday an unidentified man, who claimed to be an employee of the Embassy of Georgia in Kyiv, struck a Ukrainian photojournalist several times.

The photograther was taking pictures of members of Femen, the Ukrainian women’s rights group that was demonstrating on behalf of detained photographers in Georgia.

The scuffle happened out the Embassy of Georgia in Kyiv. Earlier three Georgian photojournalists, including the personal photographer of President Mikhail Saakashvili, were detained on suspicion of spying and charged with espionage in Tbilisi.

The three photographers in Georgia were arrested and charged with spying last week: Irakli Gedenidze, the personal photographer of President Mikhail Saakashvili; Zurab Kurtsikidze of the European Press photo Agency; and Abdaladze, who has worked for the Georgian Foreign Ministry and freelanced for The Associated Press.