Georgia’s Interior Ministry has detained eight people for attempting to block Tbilisi’s northern entrance on Sunday. If found guilty, they could face up to four years in prison.
On Tuesday, the Interior Ministry stated that detained demonstrators ‘illegally attempted to block a highway of international importance as a group during a rally’.
The blockade of one of the main roads into the city on Sunday was announced as a demonstration of the pro-EU and anti-government movement’s strength and persistence against the ruling Georgian Dream party’s policies.
Police attempted to violently disperse the demonstration by physically and verbally assaulting protesters.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
The Interior Ministry only listed initials in its statement about the detainees, but RFE/RL reported that their names were: Irakli Tsignadze, Irakli Tabatadze, Nikoloz Kutibidze, Vasil Eliava, Nikoloz Kumsishvili, Aleksandre Gogoladze, Dimitri Bidzinashvili, and Gigi Ugulava.
Ugulava is an opposition politician and former Tbilisi mayor affiliated with the opposition Unity — National Movement group.
In Tuesday’s statement, the Interior Ministry said that the investigation into the protest was still ongoing in order to identify and ‘hold accountable other individuals involved in blocking the road’.
On Monday, the Interior Ministry told OC Media that a total of 31 protesters were detained on administrative charges of disobeying the police on Sunday.
On Friday, two days before the protest, the government issued a decree adding ‘highways of international importance’ to the list of objects of strategic or special importance. Blocking such objects is punishable under criminal law, which the Interior Ministry also stressed in a statement ahead of protest.
Georgians throughout the country have been protesting for almost 70 days against the government’s policies and the announcement the ruling party would halt the country’s EU accession process. The political crisis followed October’s parliamentary elections, which according to official results, gave the ruling Georgian Dream party a large majority, with 54% of the vote.
OC Media
The ruling party proposes new legislation, including those restricting protests, claiming they are an attempt to prevent ‘deep state sabotage’.
Police physically and verbally assaulted protesters attempting to block one of Tbilisi’s major entrances.
Police have raided the homes of Daitove’s two founders and a third activist, who was detained on administrative charges.
In April 2024, Georgian Dream changed the country’s tax code to exempt companies from taxes in case they transferred their assets to Georgia.
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