Georgian police detain 14 protesters in Tbilisi for road blockade

The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs has detained 14 participants of a protest held in Tbilisi on October 18 for blocking a road, Caliber.Az reports citing the Telegram channel of Sputnik Georgia.

Among those detained are Vakho Sanaya, a journalist with the opposition TV channel Formula, and Lasha Chkhartishvili, a member of the Labour Party. Administrative proceedings have also been initiated against 13 other individuals.

According to the ministry, the detainees blocked Rustaveli Avenue despite the relatively small number of protesters.

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.

Over 400 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