We continue our live coverage of the fallout and widespread protests that have come in the wake of Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s announcement that Georgia would be halting its EU accession process.

We’re ending our live coverage for now, but will be back later for more from Georgia. You can read a summary of the day’s events here.

As the free press in Georgia comes under attack, please consider becoming an OC Media member to help support our work.

Gvaramia allegedly beaten up and detained on administrative charges

Opposition leader Nika Gvaramia’s lawyer, Dito Sadzaglishvili, told Mtavari Arkhi that Gvaramia was physically assaulted by the police when he was detained.

‘He was hit in the stomach and after one of the blows, he passed out for a few seconds due to shortness of breath. Overall, his health is satisfactory’, he said.

‘He accidentally overheard the police officers talking, and was arrested for petty hooliganism and failure to comply with a police officer’s request. These are administrative offenses, and a trial must be held within 48 hours’.

EU foreign and security police spokesperson: we urge authorities to stop using excessive force

The European Union’s Lead Spokesperson on foreign and security policy, Anitta Hipper, posted on X urging the ‘authorities to stop using excessive force and ensure freedom of assembly. All acts of violence must be investigated immediately’.

🇬🇪 Georgia: Alarming reports of arbitrary detention, violence and ill-treatment against protesters.

We urge authorities to stop using excessive force and ensure freedom of assembly. All acts of violence must be investigated immediately.

— Anitta Hipper (@ExtSpoxEU) December 4, 2024

Helsinki Commission calls for sanctions against Georgian officials

The Helsinki Commission has published a statement by its chair, Representative Joe Wilson, criticising the Georgian government’s crackdown on protesters and arrest of opposition members.

‘The de-facto Georgian government has shed all pretense of democracy and has now started arresting innocent activists and peaceful members of the opposition in their homes and places of work’, he said.

‘Make no mistake: Georgian Dream is using Kremlin-style dictatorial tactics.’

‘The US government must respond to punish those involved in perpetrating violence and brutality against innocent Georgians immediately. If we do not act now, Georgian Dream will continue escalating their campaign of violence and brutality to levels we have not seen in the country in decades.’

He called on the Department of State and European states to announce personal sanctions against Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri, and ‘all the other officials for orchestrating this crackdown’.

Elisashvili detained on criminal charges

Aleko Elisashvili, one of the leaders of Strong Georgia and an MP, has reportedly been detained for attacking Ali Babayev, a Georgian Dream member.

Elisashvili could face up to three years in prison if found guilty.

Strong Georgia and two other major opposition groups successfully had their parliamentary lists annulled by the Central Election Commission. This annulment is pending approval from parliament. Until then, Elisashvili is considered a sitting MP in parliament and therefore enjoys immunity from arrest and prosecution — unless he commits a criminal act.

Riot police department’s head of operational planning steps down

Irakli Shaishmelashvili, the head of the Operational Planning Division at the Special Tasks Department, has resigned citing ‘family conditions’. He also left ‘the ranks’ of the Interior Ministry.

Zelenskyi instructs government to develop sanctions against Georgian government

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi posted on Telegram saying that he gave ‘instructions to prepare appropriate sanctions decisions’ against the Georgian government.

‘The current government in Georgia is pushing the country into clear dependence on Russia. It is truly shameful – what actions they are taking against their own people’, he said.

‘And when Moscow praises these authorities in Georgia, it clearly shows for whom they are now working in Tbilisi and for whom they are dispersing the protests. Definitely not for Georgia.’

‘We are developing our legal response and working with European and other partners on concrete actions. I have given instructions to prepare appropriate sanctions decisions’.

Kharazishvili: riot police never tire

Zviad Kharazashvili, the head of the Special Tasks Department, the agency responsible for riot police, has told reporters that his forces did not attack anyone during the protests, but ‘repelled the people’.

Answering a reporter’s question about whether his men had gotten tired, Kharazashvili said that riot police officers ‘never tire, and no one can make them tired, nothing can make them tired’. 

Explainer | After a month of simmering protests, Georgia erupted: why now?

OC Media’s Nate Ostiller has spoken to Georgian experts about the government’s decision to halt the country’s EU membership bid and how it contributed to the creation of a spontaneous protest movement. Read the article here.

Elisashvili and Datunashvili detained in scuffle on Freedom Square

One of the leaders of Strong Georgia, Aleko Elisashvili, and Coalition for Change member Zurab Datunashvili were detained in a scuffle outside the Courtyard by Marriot Hotel on Freedom Square. 

Representatives of the opposition reportedly clashed with unknown masked individuals after the meeting outside the hotel. They claim the masked men were State Security Service ‘titushki’ — Ukrainian slang used to describe plainclothes security forces used to attack government critics.

The individuals reportedly also damaged a TV Pirveli camera.

UNM chair accuses of police of framing detainees

Tina Bokuchava, chair of the United National Movement (UNM), stated that the police raid of her party’s youth wing was ‘completely illegal’ and was carried out without a search warrant.

‘The Russian OMON invaded without a court order, which is completely illegal’.

Bokuchava said that there were no witnesses present in the office during the raid.

‘They took away the flags of Georgia and the EU from here, as well as saline solution and other medical supplies […], but we do not know what they brought in and we suspect that they brought in the very items that they will now accuse us of carrying out a coup d'état’, she said.

Earlier, police have detained five members of the opposition United National Movement (UNM), the leading party of the larger opposition group Unity — National Movement, after conducting a search at the youth wing of the party in Tbilisi. 

Riot police mobilised on streets surrounding parliament

Riot police are mobilised on Chitadze and Chichinadze streets, near parliament. Water cannons can be seen behind their ranks.

Police seen violently searching and detaining people walking out of Freedom Square Metro Station

Footage shared by media shows people, presumably protesters, being  searched at Liberty Square Metro Station on Rustaveli Avenue by police. At least two people were reportedly detained.

Mariam Kvaratskhelia, a human rights activist, posted on Facebook saying that police were searching peoples’ bags for gas masks and other items upon their exit from metro stations.

Thousands of protests gather in front of parliament

Thousands of protesters are now gathered in front of parliament on Rustaveli Avenue.

Special Investigative Service responds to Zourabichvili’s calls

The Special Investigative Service of Georgia (SIS) told IPN that ‘the service plans to inform the public about the progress of the investigation in the near future. Accordingly, all interested persons will be informed’.

Earlier, President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili wrote on her Facebook page that her administration has been unable to contact SIS chief Koka Katsitadze.

The Georgian government established the SIS in 2022, citing the country’s commitment under the Association Agreement with the EU to create an independent agency dedicated to investigating alleged human rights violations by law enforcement officials.

Zourabichvili urges partners to pressure Georgian Dream

#repressioninGeorgia My urgent call to our partners and those who want to prevent crisis to go deeper and instability, it is time to put strong pressure on a ruling party that is driving the country over the cliff! Do not be late… !

— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) December 4, 2024

Authorities detain 13 amid crackdown, claiming to have seized pyrotechnics and Molotov cocktails

Teimuraz Kupatadze, Director of the Central Criminal Police Department of the Interior Ministry, reported the arrest of seven individuals accused of organising, leading, or participating in group violence — offences that carry a prison sentence of up to nine years.

According to Kupatadze, law enforcement seized items from their residences, including ‘helmets, respirators, a large quantity of pyrotechnics, electronic transmission devices, computer equipment, so-called “Molotov cocktails,” paints, and various solutions’.

Kupatadze justified the raids and searches of the residences of six individuals, as well as the offices of activist group Geut, the shared offices of opposition parties Droa and Girchi, and the youth wing of the United National Movement (UNM), citing ‘urgent necessity’.

Kupatadze also reported the criminal prosecution and detention of six additional individuals on charges of property damage or destruction, and assaulting a police officer, offences that carry a prison sentence of up to seven years.

Gvaramia reportedly in Marneuli detention facility

Nika Gvaramia’s lawyer, Dito Sadzaglishvili, reported that the Public Defender’s Office informed him that his client had been transferred to a detention facility in Marneuli, a municipality in southern Georgia.

Sadzaglishvili stated that he still has no information regarding Gvaramia’s medical condition. Gvaramia appeared unconscious when he was detained earlier today in Tbilisi by a large group of masked police officers.

Police detain five UNM members

Police have reportedly detained five young members of the opposition United National Movement (UNM), the leading party of the larger opposition group Unity — National Movement, after conducting a search at the youth wing of the party in Tbilisi. 

Zourabichvili ‘unable’ to summon Special Investigative Service chief

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has written on her Facebook page that her administration has been unable to contact Special Investigative Service (SIS) chief Koka Katsitadze.

‘This is the agency directly responsible for identifying and investigating instances of violence by law enforcement agencies’, Zourabichvili wrote, saying that she intended to speak with him. 

The Georgian government established the SIS in 2022, citing the country’s commitment under the Association Agreement with the EU to create an independent agency dedicated to investigating alleged human rights violations by law enforcement officials.

Rustaveli Avenue blocked for seventh night in a row

 Protesters have blocked Rustaveli Avenue for the seventh night in a row.

Popular writer attacked after protesting at Writers’ House

A man has confronted a group of writers at the Writers’ House in Tbilisi and evidently assaulted one of the protesters, the popular Georgian writer Torresa Mossy, after the demonstrators demanded to meet with the director, Ketevan Dumbadze. 

Multiple media outlets have identified the attacker as Nodar Macharashvili, Dumbadze’s son, a claim OC Media wasn’t able to verify immediately. 

Dumbadze, a former Georgian Dream MP, was appointed to her current position in 2023, a move that sparked protests from Georgian writers.

Nodar Macharashvili, the son of Keti Dumbadze, head of the "Writers House," assaulted writer Torresa Mossy. Writers are protesting Dumbadze's silence following the police's physical assault on three writers. Dumbadze is loyal to GD. pic.twitter.com/i7YH8Yqbui

— PUBLIKA (@Publika_ge) December 4, 2024

Kobakhidze challenges critics to TV debates

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has held an emergency press briefing, claiming that his critics, former Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze and former Defence Minister Tinatin Khidasheli, were too afraid to debate him.

Both cancelled their participation in a planned debate on the Public Broadcaster earlier today. 

After being asked about the ongoing raids and detentions at the same press briefing, Kobakhidze called them ‘rather prevention [of crime] than [political] repression’, disputing the language of the question.

Lithuania’s MFA calls for further sanctions on Georgian officials

The Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gabrielius Landsbergis, has called the level of violence against protesters in Georgia ‘unacceptable’ and has called on more countries to join the Baltic states in ‘sanctioning the people responsible’.

The level of violence against protestors in Georgia is unacceptable. I hope many more countries will join the Baltic States in sanctioning the people responsible. pic.twitter.com/Bqdvx1lglb

— Gabrielius Landsbergis🇱🇹 (@GLandsbergis) December 4, 2024

Theatre workers go on strike

A group of actors from the Georgian Theatrical Society went on strike today, criticising the organisation for its failure to denounce the Georgian government’s recent acts of ‘violence.’

 

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Estonian MP calls for EU sanctions on Ivanishvili

The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament, Marko Mihkelson, has called for the EU to impose ‘personal sanctions’ on Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili and ‘all of his obedient enforcers’. 

The use of terror against opposition leaders and citizens defending their freedom shows the true nature of Georgia’s pro-Russian illegitimate government. The EU 🇪🇺 should immediately impose personal sanctions on both Bidzina Ivanishvili and all of his obedient enforcers.

— Marko Mihkelson (@markomihkelson) December 4, 2024

Three more reportedly detained after Gvaramia and Khasaia’s arrests

Saba Buadze, one of the leaders of the opposition Lelo party and the broader Strong Georgia coalition, alleged that police had detained his party members, Vepkhia Kasradze and Vaso Kadzelishvili.

Buadze emphasised that the arrests were preceded by allegations from the pro-government TV channel Imedi, which claimed that the detainees had discussed ‘violent plans’ during the recent street demonstrations.

Additionally, anti-government group Dapioni has reported that their founder, Zviad Tsetskhladze, has also been detained. 

Former Georgian Dream officials cancel TV debate with Kobakhidze

Former Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze has announced that he has withdrawn from planned televised debates with Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze following criticism from government opponents.

In his most strongly worded statement yet, published on his Facebook page, Janelidze accused Georgian Dream of having no intention of advancing Georgia’s EU bid and referred to Kobakhidze as an unelected leader reinstalled by Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili.

‘Even for their supporters, it must be offensive that Bidzina Ivanishvili was presented as the top candidate of the party before the so-called elections, and now he has disappeared again. Bidzina Ivanishvili is responsible for everything happening in the country, and he cannot escape this responsibility, along with other culprits’, Janelidze wrote. 

Soon after Janelidze’s announcement, another former Georgian Dream official, Georgia’s ex-Defence Minister Tinatin Khidasheli, also cancelled her participation. 

Medical workers hold demonstrations in support of Euro-Atlantic integration

A group of medical workers have announced that demonstrations will be held in front of medical institutions all across Georgia at 16:00 in support of Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration. 

According to Batumlebi, doctors at the Batumi International Hospital, as well as the employees of the Republic Hospital, Med Centre, and Medina, all in Batumi, were planning to participate in the rally.

Coalition for Change leader detained

One of the leaders of Coalition for Change, Nika Gvaramia, has been detained by police. He had requested that police allow him to enter the Coalition for Change office in Tbilisi, which was being searched. No details have been provided as to why the political group’s offices were searched and why Gvaramia was detained. 

BREAKING: @NikaGvaramia212 one of the leaders of Coalition 4 Change @CoalitionGEO was dragged by the police and thrown into a detention car as he was physically assaulted and unconscious. This happened at the @GIRCHIMF - @DroaParty office at Sharashidze Street. #GeorgiaProtests pic.twitter.com/wMwVYm2G6L

— Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 (@Mikiashvili_M) December 4, 2024

Gela Khasaia, another member of the coalition, was also detained near the office minutes after Gvaramia’s detention. 

More protest organisers visited by police

Another co-founder of the Facebook self-organised group Daitove, Nancy Woland, is reportedly having her home searched.

Earlier today, police searched the home of Daitove co-founder Ilia Ghlonti, stating that an investigation was opened based on articles of the criminal code related to group violence and incitement to disorder. Ghlonti reported that police removed all electronic equipment, including his personal mobile phone and laptop, from his house. 

Public Broadcaster department head resigns

RFE/RL has reported that Giorgi Gvimradze has resigned as director of the news and current affairs department of the Georgian Public Broadcaster.

According to RFE/RL, an informed source first broke the news, which was then confirmed by the Communications Service of the Public Broadcaster today. The Public Broadcaster did not specify the reasons behind Gvimradze’s decision to leave. 

Police search office of opposition party Droa

Helen Koshtaria, a leader of the opposition Droa party, part of the Coalition for Change group, has announced that police are currently searching the party office. 

BREAKING: They are now in our party office, searching. Likely hoping to find something to charge some of our members with trumped-up charges. https://t.co/ThjaNKfFWp

— Helen Khoshtaria (@Helenkhosh) December 4, 2024

Sweden supports Georgia’s European aspirations

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has posted on Twitter after speaking with Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, writing that Sweden ‘firmly supports’ Georgia’s European aspirations. 

I have just spoken with Georgian President @Zourabichvili_S.

Sweden firmly supports the European aspirations of the Georgian people, as enshrined in Georgia’s constitution.

Freedom of expression and assembly must be respected.

— SwedishPM (@SwedishPM) December 4, 2024

Police reportedly attempt to search offices of opposition parties

According to a Facebook Live shared by Nika Gvaramia, one of the leaders of the opposition group Coalition for Change, police entered the political group’s offices, intending to conduct a search of the premises. However, after the coalition leaders demanded a search warrant, the officers left the building, without providing any explanation. 

BREAKING: the police has just entered our Coalition 4 Change main office at the Besiki Business Center. After one of our leaders @NikaGvaramia212 required they present a search warrant, they left. They had been patrolling around our office for days. Next step would be searching… pic.twitter.com/ZUoOYtmiPy

— Coalition 4 Change 🇬🇪🇪🇺 (@CoalitionGEO) December 4, 2024

Separately, the Mtavari Arkhi media outlet reported that police had entered the youth movement offices of another opposition party, the Unity National Movement.

‘On the basis of the court ruling, investigative activities are underway, we cannot make any other comments at this stage, the relevant service will provide you with detailed information [...] I am not obliged to make a decision’, a police officer said at the scene. The police reportedly refused to allow Sopo Japaridze, one of the party leaders, to enter the office.

MEPs hold solidarity action in European Parliament

MEPs have held a solidarity rally in the European Parliament building in Brussels. They carried Georgian flags and held photographs of protesters and journalists who were brutally beaten by riot police during the demonstrations. 

MEPs is full support to people if Georgia 🇬🇪. NO to violence, police brutality and torture. ⁦@Europarl_EN⁩ #WeStandWithGeorgia! pic.twitter.com/Ganyrtq3XW

— Petras Austrevicius (@petras_petras) December 4, 2024

Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner: law enforcement officers should display forms of identification

In his statement released today, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, has urged the Georgian authorities to ensure that ‘all law enforcement officers [...] wear or display proper forms of identification’. 

The Commissioner clarified that it was necessary to ‘facilitate the prosecution and sanctioning of perpetrators of abuse, as stipulated by applicable international human rights standards’. 

O’Flaherty pointed to reports of frequent attacks on journalists as they have been covering the protest demonstrations in Georgia, as well as to the recent observation by the Georgian Public Defender, who noted that the vast majority of detained protesters visited by their representatives had visible injuries.

‘While acts of violence by some protesters have occurred, they do not justify excessive force by police’, O’Flaherty stated.

‘I ask the Georgian authorities to immediately release all those individuals who are detained for the legitimate exercise of their right to demonstrate peacefully, and to fulfill their obligation to ensure that journalists can report on public assemblies freely and safely’.  

Georgian women protest outside police stations in Tbilisi

At 15:00 today, groups of Georgian ‘women and mothers’ assembled outside police stations in Tbilisi to ‘demand answers’ for the ‘brutal crackdowns on our children.’

In their event announcement, the organisers urged resistance against the torture of protesters and called on police officers to uphold their oath.

Women gathering in front of police stations all over Georgia, asking them to keep us safe instead of turn a blind eye on mass beatings and torture. pic.twitter.com/ZeIXa8C4i9

— Rusudan Djakeli (@rusudanjakeli) December 4, 2024

Protest organiser reportedly visited by police

Ilia Ghlonti, one of the organisers of the recent anti-government street protests, has claimed that law enforcement officers have shown up at his ‘place’.

The legal purpose of the visit remains uncertain.

Kobakhidze: European bureaucrats favour Moldova, Ukraine, and Bosnia over Georgia

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has claimed that Georgia’s European integration was being hindered not by his government but by ‘European politicians and bureaucrats’ who, he alleged, were showing preferential treatment to Moldova, Ukraine, and Bosnia.

‘Certain European bureaucrats are artificially blocking our country’s European integration. You know very well that Georgia is far ahead of Moldova, Ukraine, and Bosnia, but one country is artificially pushed a step ahead while Georgia is deliberately held back. This is unfair’, Kobakhidze complained, adding that ‘naturally, the Georgian public should deliberate on this matter’. 

Kobakhidze: ‘Nats-maydan has failed’

In his latest press briefing, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze declared that ‘Nats-Maydan’ — a term recently coined by the ruling party to describe the former ruling United National Movement and their alleged attempts, along with others, to ‘orchestrate’ a Ukraine-style Maidan Revolution in the country — has failed.

Kobakhidze also took aim at the US Embassy in Georgia for their daily posts on Facebook that have been critical of his government. 

In their latest post, the Embassy quoted Kobakhidze, who suggested that Georgian public employees, including schoolteachers, criticising his government had a ‘problem with reading comprehension’. ‘Leadership with dignity?’, the card asked rhetorically.

During today’s press briefing, Kobakhidze stated that he hoped the incoming Trump administration would reverse the Embassy’s ‘comical’ line of communication.

22-year-old protester remains in induced coma 

The 22-year-old man injured during the protests in Tbilisi remains in intensive care and under medically induced sleep, according to his attending doctor, as quoted by the Georgian online news outlet Publika.

Aleksi Tirkia was hospitalised during the night of 2-3 December with an open scalp wound, fractures to the frontal bone and the upper edge of the orbital wall, as well as a contusion injury to the frontal lobe.

Health Ministry: 15 hospitalised after last night’s protests

The Georgian Health Ministry has reported that they hospitalised 11 protesters, three media workers, and one Interior Ministry employee during last night’s protests, noting that their lives were not at risk. 

Detainee claims US-sanctioned police chief films protesters being assaulted

Translator Data Kharaishvili, one of the protesters detained on Tuesday night, identified the Interior Ministry’s Special Tasks Department chief Zviad ‘Khareba’ Kharazishvili, as the official allegedly recording the apparent torture of detainees.

Speaking to RFE/RL’s Georgian service, Kharaishvili recounted that a police unit, which he identified as ‘Khareba’s’ squad, tore off his watch, ripped out his earring, and dragged him into a police van, where they repeatedly hit and kicked him and other detainees in the head. 

According to Kharaishvili, this included a deaf man who he claimed was repeatedly assaulted by police officers for not responding to them, even after they became aware of his disability.

'I saw Khareba recording all of this on video. He was standing at the open door, swearing at us, laughing mockingly, and saying, “Go on, insult Khareba now,” and “Now smile for the camera” ’, Kharaishvili, who remains hospitalised, was quoted as saying by RFE/RL. 

GYLA condemns repeated use of ‘unlawful’, excessive force in Tbilisi protests

GYLA has reported that the Interior Ministry unlawfully started dispersing protests  in Tbilisi last night, first shortly before midnight and again around 3:30, despite the majority of rally participants demonstrating peacefully.

The rights group also criticised the Ministry for firing large quantities of tear gas canisters into tightly packed groups of protesters, stating that this action ‘posed a significant risk’ to their health. GYLA also criticised the Interior Ministry’s tactics, stating that they ‘created a risk’ of kettling protesters near Republic Square last night.

In their report, GYLA reiterated its criticism of the authorities for deploying unidentified chemical substances against peaceful protesters and failing to disclose their composition, hindering effective medical responses.

Kaladze: Zourabichvili ‘completely lost the ability to think rationally’ 

This morning, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze criticised Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili for urging ‘schools to express their solidarity with the protests, all over Georgia’ on Monday.

‘I don’t know, unimaginable things are happening. A person who is still called the president of the country is urging children and minors to participate in protest rallies and political processes’, Kaladze complained. 

The right of minors to freedom of association and peaceful assembly is envisioned and guaranteed by Article 17 of Georgia’s Code on the Rights of the Child, which Kaladze’s party adopted in late 2019.

OSCE Representative expresses ‘deep concern’ over reports of violence during Georgian protests

Luis Graça, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Special Representative on the South Caucasus, has voiced his ‘deep concern’ over reports of violence during the anti-government protests in Georgia.

He urged demonstrators to protest peacefully, emphasised the need for law enforcement to exercise restraint in their response, and called on the authorities to ‘listen to the protesters’ voices’ while upholding fundamental freedoms.

‘The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly stands ready to assist in fostering dialogue and supporting solutions that uphold the democratic and constitutional order, the rule of law, and the well-being of all Georgians’.

Tbilisi mayor pledges to stop Georgia’s ‘Ukrainisation’ and ‘Nats-Maydan’

During today’s municipal government session, Tbilisi Mayor and Georgian Dream Secretary General Kakha Kaladze reiterated the party’s line that the government will not allow Georgia’s ‘Ukrainisation’ and ‘Nats-Maydan’, describing it as a scenario orchestrated ‘abroad.’ Nats-Maydan is a new portmanteau coined by the ruling party, referring to the former ruling United National Movement and their alleged attempt, along with others, to stage a Ukraine-like Maidan Revolution, which they have recently described as a coup.

Referring to a recent petition signed by 299 Tbilisi City Hall employees protesting the government’s recent anti-EU turn, Kaladze warned that ‘sabotage attempts […] will not go unanswered — of course, within the framework of the Constitution and the law.’

Media watchdogs demand accountability for attacks on journalists during protests

Eleven major international free speech and media freedom organisations, including the International Press Institute and the Association of European Journalists, issued a joint statement on Tuesday condemning the violent attacks on media during recent protests in Georgia and the lack of effective investigations into it.

‘The international community must demand that the Georgian government ends its crackdown on the press and upholds its commitments to democratic freedoms and freedom of expression. We once again express our full solidarity with the courageous journalists of Georgia’, the statement read. 

Sixth night of protests end in Tbilisi's Saburtalo district

Riot police once again dispersed protesters on Tbilisi’s central Rustaveli Avenue last night, using tear gas and water cannons, pursuing them for several kilometres and detaining some. 

After being forced to vacate the area near the parliament and having their barricades dismantled on Kostava Street, some demonstrators relocated to the Saburtalo district through Heroes Square to end their protest near the Delisi Metro station on Vazha Pshavela Avenue shortly before dawn, around six to seven kilometres from the parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue where the demonstration originated. 

Key events from yesterday:

• Georgia’s Constitutional Court rejected the lawsuit submitted by President Salome Zourabichvili and opposition parties to declare the 26 October elections unconstitutional. 
• Groups of students in schools across Kutaisi, Batumi, Zugdidi, Rustavi, and Akhaltsikhe boycotted classes in protest against the Georgian government’s anti-EU stance and police violence against protesters.
• The Education Ministry responded to the walkouts by asking for tip offs on any attempts to ‘interrupt the education process’. 
• Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze pledged to ‘react’ to dissenting public employees during a press briefing, describing it as a ‘self-cleansing’ of the public service.
• The Georgian Public Broadcaster has agreed to host a debate between Kobakhidze and Parliamentary Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on one side and former Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze and former Defence Minister Tina Khidasheli on the other at 20:00 today.
• Shops and warehouses selling fireworks and other pyrotechnics were reportedly closed in Tbilisi. 
• A website has been created to track the movements and activities of riot police to warn protesters of their whereabouts.