Opposition leader arrested during police raid on offices amid unrest in Georgia
Georgian police on Wednesday raided the offices of an opposition party and arrested its leader in an apparent attempt to halt a wave of mass protests triggered by the governing party’s decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union.
During the past six nights, riot police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, who threw fireworks at police officers and built barricades on the Georgian capital’s central boulevard.
More than 300 protesters have been detained since Thursday and more than 100 people have been treated for injuries.
On Wednesday, the Coalition for Change opposition party said that police raided its offices and detained its leader, Nika Gvaramia. It shared a video showing several officers dragging Mr Gvaramia into a car.
Georgian media reported that police also raided the offices of several other opposition groups and non-government organisations.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, of the Georgian Dream party, said the raids targeted those who encouraged violence during protests in an attempt to topple his government.
“I wouldn’t call this repression; it is more of a preventive measure than repression,” he said.
The ruling Georgian Dream retained control of parliament in the disputed October 26 election, which was widely seen as a referendum on Georgia’s EU aspirations.
The opposition and the pro-Western president have accused the governing party of rigging the vote with neighbouring Russia’s help and boycotted parliament sessions.
Mass opposition protests sparked by the vote gained new momentum after the governing party’s decision on Thursday to put the EU accession talks on hold.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili refused to recognise the official election results and contested them in the Constitutional Court, which rejected her appeal on Tuesday.
Ms Zourabichvili, who plays a largely ceremonial role, has declared that she would stay on the job even after her six-year term ends later this month to lead the opposition demand for a new parliamentary election.
The Georgian government’s announcement of the EU accession talks’ suspension came hours after the European Parliament adopted a resolution criticizing October’s election as neither free nor fair.
On Monday, the EU reiterated its “serious concerns about the continuous democratic backsliding of the country.”