Georgian police have prevented protesters from blocking Rustaveli Avenue for the first time in almost a year of daily anti-government protests.
Police were able to disperse protesters before they had managed to block the central thoroughfare on Thursday evening.
Unable to block the avenue, protesters relocated to the nearby Government Chancellery, located near parliament. According to the public broadcaster, protesters then began marching back towards parliament, during which a ‘disagreement’ arose between police and protesters, who sought to continue marching on the road.
‘Two individuals were subsequently removed from the area by law enforcement officers’, they reported.
According to Mtavari, the police arrested 15-year-old Andria Khomasuridze, who was attending the protest. According to opposition-aligned TV Pirveli, he was released shortly after.
TV Pirveli also reported that up to ‘50 law enforcement officers participated in a fight’ with protesters, following which one person was detained, whom they identified as Aleksandre Rasmadze.
Neither the police nor the Interior Ministry have yet to publish a statement confirming the arrest. However, pro-government media outlet Imedi has reported that only one person was detained.
While police have regularly cleared Rustaveli Avenue of protesters over the past year, this marked the first time that they successfully prevented the road from being blocked in the first place.
Anti-government demonstrations have been taking place on a daily basis since the end of November 2024, when the government decided to ‘temporarily suspend’ Georgia’s EU membership bid.
