Georgia: 60 protesters detained in three days For violating public rules

Over the past three days, Georgian law enforcement authorities have detained 60 participants in protests for allegedly violating regulations governing public gatherings, per the country's Interior Ministry.

The ministry emphasised that the demonstrators’ actions were in breach of the Administrative Offences Code, Georgia Online reports.

Despite repeated warnings from the Patrol Police not to block the roadway, protesters continued to obstruct traffic.

“We urge participants in the demonstration to refrain from illegal actions. Otherwise, measures prescribed by law will be taken,” the Ministry's statement reads.

Demonstrators, primarily opposition supporters, have been staging daily rallies near the Parliament building in central Tbilisi, focusing on demands for new parliamentary elections and the release of political prisoners. On October 23-25, groups of protesters sat or stood in roadways, halting traffic on Rustaveli Avenue—a common tactic to draw attention but one explicitly prohibited under recent amendments to the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations. Patrol Police issued multiple warnings via megaphones before intervening with detentions, citing public safety and traffic disruption.

Since October 17, Georgia has tightened the rules governing public demonstrations. Under the new regulations, blocking roads or covering one’s face with a mask during protests now carries a penalty of up to 15 days of administrative arrest instead of a fine.

The protests trace back to November 2024, when the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party suspended EU accession talks, prompting nightly vigils that ballooned into mass mobilisations after the disputed October 26 parliamentary elections. Official results gave GD 53.9% of votes, securing a supermajority, but opposition coalitions like Unity for the Salvation of Georgia decried it as a "Russian special operation" laced with fraud via AI surveillance and ballot stuffing—claims echoed by then-President Salome Zourabichvili, who boycotted the vote and called for a major rally on October 28.

Hundreds of arrests have occurred since November 2024, with Amnesty International documenting beatings and arbitrary detentions, while GD vows further probes into "foreign agents" like EU diplomats.

By Khagan Isayev