The leader of the Akhali party, Nika Gvaramia, was brutalized then taken away by hooded police officers on Wednesday, December 4, during this search of the premises of another opposition party, Droa, according to images broadcast live by the channel. independent television Pirveli, before an expected seventh night of demonstrations against the government, accused of abandoning the country’s European ambitions.
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The previous six nights of mobilization, which brought together thousands of demonstrators near the Parliament in Tbilisi, were dispersed by the police with water cannons and tear gas, and nearly 300 people were arrested.
This Wednesday, the authorities increased their pressure by searching the offices of the opposition Droa party. Hooded police officers brutalized then took away Nika Gvaramia, the leader of another allied party, Akhali, according to images broadcast live by the independent television channel Pirveli.
In other images posted on Facebook by a Droa activist, Tata Khoundadzé, police officers, during this raid, seized bottles with a yellowish liquid, paint bombs and fireworks.
Water cannon versus fireworks
Tension is high in Georgia after the legislative elections of October 26 which gave victory to the Georgian Dream, the ruling party and whose results are contested by the opposition.
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Demonstrations in Tbilisi, punctuated by violence, broke out last Thursday after the government announced the postponement until 2028 of the ambitions of this former Soviet republic in the Caucasus to join the EU. This choice ignited the powder in an already tense political climate. The ruling party, the Georgian Dream, is accused of pro-Russian authoritarian drift and the opposition claims that it rigged the legislative elections at the end of October.
Its results have also been questioned by Western countries. Opposition elected officials refused to sit in the newly elected Parliament, denounced as “illegitimate” by demonstrators and experts.
Also readDemonstrations in Georgia: justice refuses to annul the legislative elections contested by the opposition
Since last week, tens of thousands of people carrying European and Georgian flags have taken to the streets of the capital Tbilisi, and other cities in this country nestled on the shores of the Black Sea. On Tuesday evening, clashes took place again between the police, who used a water cannon and tear gas in abundance, and protesters who threw fireworks in their direction.
“ Eleven demonstrators, three journalists and a police officer had to be hospitalized after these clashes », Specified the Ministry of Health.
In the afternoon, a temporary calm had returned to Parliament Square in Tbilisi, but a demonstration is still planned for the evening, in the same place, raising fears of further violence.