Georgian Police Arrest Over 100 at Pro-Western Protest

Over 100 demonstrators were detained by Georgian police during a pro-Western protest in Tbilisi, as tensions rise over the country’s foreign policy direction.

On Friday night in Tbilisi, police detained several dozen protesters during demonstrations. The unrest followed after opposition parties criticized the government’s decision to halt Georgia’s EU accession talks.

In a statement issued on Saturday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it was reported that at least 107 activists have been detained for “disobedience” and “petty hooliganism.”

Since Thursday evening, crowds of protesters have been gathering on Tbilisi’s central Rustaveli Avenue after Georgia’s French-born president, Salome Zourabichvili, accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of declaring “war” on its own citizens by delaying EU accession negotiations until 2028.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated that while his government remains committed to the long-term goal of joining the bloc, they will not pursue it at this time. He accused Brussels of interfering in Georgian politics through these discussions and insisted that Georgia should resist “constant blackmail and manipulation” from EU officials.

The authorities reported that during Friday’s protests, activists set off fireworks, built makeshift barricades, ignited dumpsters, and damaged both the entrance gate to the parliament building and nearby video surveillance cameras. The statement pointed out that protesters were repeatedly cautioned to comply with Georgia’s assembly and demonstration law but blatantly ignored police instructions to maintain a peaceful rally. Additionally, they “verbally and physically” assaulted officers. It has been reported that at least ten officers sustained injuries due to these actions by the protesters.

Earlier reports indicated that approximately 150 additional protesters were detained after Thursday’s demonstrations.

Protests have been ongoing in Georgia since late last month following Georgian Dream’s victory in the parliamentary elections. The party, which promotes pragmatic relations with all of Georgia’s neighbors including Russia, secured a majority by obtaining nearly 54% of the vote. Nonetheless, both the opposition and Zourabichvili have rejected the outcome, alleging election rigging despite international observers reporting no significant violations.

In late 2023, the EU granted Georgia candidate status; however, relations between Brussels and Tbilisi deteriorated this year when Georgia enacted two laws viewed as controversial by the bloc. One law mandates that NGOs receiving over 20% of their funding from foreign sources must register as foreign agents, while the other prohibits spreading LGBTQ propaganda.

Earlier this week, the European Parliament passed a resolution denouncing the elections as “neither free nor fair” and urged for them to be conducted again within one year. Additionally, the MPs expressed that Georgian Dream’s policies are at odds with Georgia’s integration into the EU.

On Saturday, Kobakhidze held EU politicians and their local representatives responsible for the violence in Tbilisi.

“The primary responsibility for yesterday’s violent rally falls on the relevant European politicians and bureaucrats, along with local agents—the fifth column represented by four opposition parties,” he stated during a briefing. He expressed gratitude to police officers for dispersing the protests and preventing an “attack on the constitutional order in the country.”