bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

The leader of Georgia’s main opposition party has been detained by police in the capital Tbilisi after being knocked to the ground and falling unconscious, his party said, the most high-profile in a sweeping wave of arrests of senior opposition figures.
Georgia on Wednesday saw a seventh consecutive night of protests against a government decision to suspend talks on the country joining the European Union, abruptly halting a long-standing national goal and prompting a police crackdown.
The opposition Coalition for Change party published a video on X showing Nika Gvaramia, the party’s leader, being carried by the arms and legs by several men down some steps.
The party said that Gvaramia, a 48-year-old media manager-turned politician, had been “thrown into a detention car as he was physically assaulted and unconscious”.

Footage - @NikaGvaramia212, one of our Coalition leaders, was dragged by the police and thrown into a detention car after getting physically assaulted and falling unconscious.
He verbally insisted to be allowed into the search of our members parties’ office, as he’s a lawyer. pic.twitter.com/U5yTCGZqPo
— Coalition 4 Change 🇬🇪🇪🇺 (@CoalitionGEO) December 4, 2024

Reuters could not independently verify whether Gvaramia had been beaten or not, but he did not appear to be moving as he was carried down the steps in the video released by his party.
Police also detained Aleko Elisashvili, a leader of the Strong Georgia opposition party, as well as a leader of the youth protest movement Dafioni, and at least six other members of opposition political parties.
The detentions came as thousands of pro-EU protesters gathered, facing off against a large deployment of riot police who have used water cannon and gas to break up previous gatherings.
Local media cited the country’s interior ministry as saying seven people had been arrested on charges of “organising and leading group violence”, an offence which carries up to nine years in prison.
The ministry said it had searched the houses of six people, and seized items including air rifles, fireworks and Molotov cocktails.
A senior official in the interior ministry department that oversees the riot police published a letter of resignation due to “family circumstances” on Facebook, along with EU and Georgian flag emojis.

Georgian officials have repeatedly accused opposition protesters of plotting a revolution along the lines of Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan protests, which ousted a pro-Russian president.
Asked at a press conference about claims authorities were repressing the opposition, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said: “I would not call it repression, it is more prevention”.
He said, without providing evidence, that opposition forces had been supplying protesters with fireworks, which they have hurled at police during demonstrations.
“People were systematically supplied with pyrotechnics and other means by the relevant political forces,” Kobakhidze said.
The government’s decision to suspend EU talks has plunged the South Caucasus country of 3.7 million people into political crisis and the authorities claim to have thwarted an attempted revolution.
Critics accuse the government of turning its back on the West and steering an increasingly authoritarian and pro-Russian course, which the ruling party denies.

Salome Zourabichvili, the country’s pro-EU president who has become a voice of the protest movement, wrote on X on Wednesday:
“My urgent call to our partners and those who want to prevent (the) crisis to go deeper …, it is time to put strong pressure on a ruling party that is driving the country over the cliff! Do not be late … !”
A spokeswoman for Coalition for Change said on X that several other party members had been detained alongside Gvaramia.
Kobakhidze, the prime minister, has repeatedly praised the police for their response to the protests.
Georgia’s public ombudsman, a former opposition politician, accused the police on Tuesday of harshly mistreating people detained during demonstrations, saying their treatment amounted to torture.
The EU’s foreign affairs spokesperson Anitta Hipper wrote on X: “We urge authorities to stop using excessive force and ensure freedom of assembly. All acts of violence must be investigated immediately”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday said the Georgian government’s actions were “shameful,” and aimed at making the country dependent on Russia.
Georgia’s government has repeatedly sparred with Ukraine since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, accusing Georgian fighters based in Ukraine of plotting its overthrow.


Ex-Manchester City striker Mikheil Kavelashvili set to be Georgia’s new far-right president

Georgia opposition figures arrested as pro-EU protests continue

Georgia police accused of torturing pro-EU protesters

Georgia president demands fresh parliamentary elections as protests continue

Georgia

Demonstrators use lasers against the police in Tbilisi, Georgia. Photo: AP

A demonstrator walks through a cloud of tear smoke. Photo: AP

Demonstrators launch firecrackers towards the police in Tbilisi. Photo: AP

Law enforcement officers hold a person during protests in Tbilisi, Georgia on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Police officers use shields as supporters of Georgia’s opposition parties protest in Tbilisi. Photo: Reuters

A protester launches fireworks toward police in Tbilisi on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Demonstrators point lasers towards police in Tbilisi on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Police detain demonstrators in Tbilisi on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Anti-government protesters get medical assistance. Photo: AP

Police use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators in Tbilisi. Photo: Reuters

Demonstrators use firecrackers against police in Tbilisi, Georgia. Photo: AP

Demonstrators in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Sunday. Photo: AP

Demonstrators help treat a man who was injured by tear gas. Photo: AP

A demonstrator uses firecrackers against police. Photo: AP

Police use water cannons to disperse demonstrators. Photo: AFP

Georgia suspends talks on joining EU for 4 years, triggering new protests

Protesters clash with Georgian police in Tblisi over the government’s EU application delay. Photo: Reuters

Supporters of Georgia’s opposition protest in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi. Photo: Reuters

Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Georgian riot police deploy water cannon against demonstrators in Tbilisi. Photo: Reuters

News

World

Europe

Protests continued for the seventh evening in a row after Georgian police arrest main opposition leader


Protests continued for the seventh evening in a row after Georgian police arrest main opposition leader.


Protests around the world

European Union