Cruise Protests: More Detentions, Cruise Ship with Russian Tourists Will No Longer Visit Batumi
The controversial Astoria Grande cruise ship from Sochi will no longer call at the Georgian harbour of Batumi, where Russian tourists were twice met with protests.
As the press service of Miray Cruises (manages cruises on the ship. – ed.) told the Russian outlet RBC, there will be no further voyages as they allegedly planned only two.
"At first, the Turkish operator announced two cruises with a stop in Batumi, departing on July 22 and July 29. When cruises on the 22nd and 29th were sold out, sales for cruises with a stop in Batumi ended. We have completed the programme in full," the press service said.
Meanwhile, the number of detainees has increased during the protests in Batumi against the arrival of the cruise ship with Russian tourists on Monday.
According to the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs, law enforcement officers have already detained 23 individuals under Articles 166 (petty hooliganism) and 173 (disobedience and insult of law enforcement officials) of the Code of Administrative Offenses, as reported by Georgia Online.
The Astoria Grande cruise ship arrived in Batumi for the second time on Monday morning, July 31. Students, opposition members, and activists gathered at the protest against the its arrival at the Batumi harbour.
An evening rally is also announced near the parliament of Georgia in Tbilisi on Monday.
In addition to Russian tourists, Russian artists who actively support the war against Ukraine and the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin were on board the cruise ship.
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