Peaceful chants on the streets and arrests of opposition leaders: how the 7th day of protests went in Georgia

Peaceful chants on the streets and arrests of opposition leaders: how the 7th day of protests in Georgia went Irina Chebotnikova

Protests in Georgia have been going on for the seventh day. The government, of course, is opposing the demonstrators, and the official news is not covering the protests properly. Channel 24 will tell you about the current situation.

By the way, Volodymyr Zelensky sharply responded to the events in the country in his address. He condemned the Georgian Dream and said that Kyiv would impose sanctions against Georgia.

Protests in Georgia on December 4

While people were gathering near the parliament, water cannons had already been brought to the city center and Rustaveli Avenue was blocked.

Security forces conducted searches near metro stations – they checked backpacks. The media reported on detainees, people complained that the connection was poor near the parliament.

This time, the protesters started using pyrotechnics quite late. They sang and behaved peacefully, so Ekho Kavkaza suggested that perhaps on the night of December 5, for the first time, the special forces will not disperse the demonstrators.

Peaceful protests in Georgia: watch the video

Young people complained that the government does not seem to hear them. News is coming out on television about how everything is fine in the country. The protesters there are called a bunch of radicals.

A video taken from a drone shows the true scale of the protests near the parliament

Although the center of the protest is in the capital, Tbilisi, Batumi is also not far behind. There was a march in the city center – and riot police were also on duty.

Opposition leaders are detained, but government officials resign

Before the evening protests began, searches were conducted in the opposition.

Nikoloz Gvaramia, one of the opposition leaders, has been detained. He is in a detention center 30 kilometers from Tbilisi. He is the former Minister of Justice, Science and Education. According to the lawyer, Nika was hit in the stomach, at some point he lost consciousness. His trial is scheduled to take place within 48 hours.

Aleko Elisashvili, one of the leaders of the Strong Georgia coalition and the leader of the Citizens party, faces 3 years in prison. He is accused of allegedly beating up a pro-government party member.

Opposition leaders have called for the fight to continue, even if each of them is detained.

Security forces on Freedom Square: watch the video

And the head of the operational planning department of the Department for Special Assignments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Irakli Shaishmelashvili, has resigned. The director of the news block of the public broadcaster has also resigned.