Georgians protesters marked the eve of Easter in Tbilisi with a march calling for the release of detained protesters and activists. On Easter, at least two protesters were reportedly detained on Rustaveli Avenue.
On 19 April, thousands of Georgians took to the streets in a continuation of daily protests that have been taking place since November 2024 against the ruling Georgian Dream party and its policies.
The protest began earlier on Saturday evening, with Zurab Tsetskhladze — the father of Zviad Tsetskhladze, the detained founder of Dapioni, a group organising protests — leading thousands in a march to Heroes Square from parliament on Rustaveli Avenue.
Tsetskhladze was detained in early December amidst police raids on offices of opposition groups and individual protest organisers shortly after this wave of protests commenced following the government’s decision to halt Georgia’s EU membership bid.
Exactly a year prior, Tsetskhladze had taken students protesting against the controversial foreign agent law to Tbilisi’s Heroes Square, where they vowed to continue protesting against the government.
This year, his father and the protesters accompanying him vowed to continue their protest.
Protesters carried Georgian and EU flags, as well as posters of Zviad Tsetskhladze and others detained over the last five months.
Salome Zourabichvili, Georgia’s fifth president, also made an appearance at the protest in front of parliament, but did not give any speeches.
Having spent almost an hour at Heroes Square, the protesters then marched back to Rustaveli Avenue, where they stopped by Kashveti Church to mark Easter night.
During a protest on Rustaveli Avenue on Sunday evening, Publika reported that police detained two people at the protests, citing reports from social media.
Netgazeti shared a Facebook post by Natia Bukia, a protester who said her husband, Giorgi Ortoidze, was detained during the protest on Sunday.
Bukia wrote that she and her husband headed to Rustaveli Avenue at 22:00, and that the police ‘took [her] husband away’ an hour later.
The Interior Ministry has yet to confirm any reports of arrests.
On Monday afternoon, protesters again gathered in front of parliament on Rustaveli Avenue. Footage from Netgazeti’s live stream of the protest showed a group of protesters blocking the road before a heavy police presence dispersed them by dragging them off of the avenue.
Netgazeti has reported that at least one person was detained on administrative charges during Monday’s protest.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
