Georgian police detained 43 people during the crackdown on protests – Ministry of Internal Affairs

By the morning of November 29, the police in the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, had finally dispersed the protesters and cleared Rustaveli Avenue near the parliament building. Security forces carried out dozens of harsh arrests, special forces chased people who were hiding in a pharmacy, according to one of the videos shot by eyewitnesses, reports Paper Kartuli.

Journalists report on casualties among protesters. According to journalist Zurab Javakhadze, one of the protest leaders, Elena Khoshtariya, was sprayed with gas in the eyes, and the police broke Nana Malashkhia’s nose. Publication Publika reported that their journalist Alexander Keshelashvili was beaten and his nose was broken.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, 43 people were detained during the protests. They are accused of disobeying the demands of police officers and petty hooliganism. An investigation is also ongoing under the criminal articles of resistance to a representative of the authorities and damage to property (353 and 187 of the Criminal Code of Georgia). Its participants are unknown.

In addition, during the protest, as stated in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 32 police officers were injured, some of them sustained serious head, eye and body injuries, 13 victims required surgical intervention.

The protests in Tbilisi began after Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who represents the Georgian Dream party, announced on November 28 that the country was withdrawing from negotiations to join the European Union by the end of 2028.

Protesters came to the square in front of the parliament building. They were joined by the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili. Demonstrators began to build barricades; clashes with the police began near the parliament building. The police used a water cannon and tear gas to disperse the participants of the action.