Georgian opposition leader briefly detained amid crackdown on pro-EU rally
Georgian police stepped in with beatings against the pro-EU protests in Tbilisi ongoing for the fourth day on Dec. 2, forcibly dispersing the protesters.
The latest wave of protests against the ruling Georgian Dream party broke out last week after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the suspension of the South Caucasus' EU accession process until at least 2028.
Over 220 people were detained over the past few days, the country's Interior Ministry said. This included several journalists and Zurab Japaridze, one of the leaders of the opposition Coalition for Change, who was detained on Dec. 2 before being released the same day.
Georgian Dream, which declared victory in the October elections broadly disputed by domestic opposition and international observers, has been accused of democratic backsliding and dragging Georgia into the Kremlin's orbit.
Tens of thousands have joined the demonstrations, with the police attempting to disperse the rally with teargas, water cannons, and arrests. In turn, the protesters have set up barricades and shot fireworks toward the riot police.
Dozens have been injured during the crackdown, including journalists covering the rally. Pro-EU President Salome Zourabichvili, a critic of Georgian Dream who joined the protests, said that the "majority of the arrested protesters have injuries to their heads and faces, broken face bones, eye sockets, open wounds."
Thirty-seven people have been hospitalized on Dec. 2, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
Georgian authorities claimed that 113 police officers have been injured since Nov. 28, including 21 between Dec. 1 and Dec. 2.
The prime minister thanked law enforcement services for preventing a "Maidan" from taking place in Georgia. This was a reference to Ukraine's EuroMaidan Revolution in 2014-2014, where mass pro-EU demonstrations led to the ousting of pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych.
