Police in Georgia deploy water cannon against pro-EU demonstrators
Thousands of pro-EU protesters took to the streets again in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Friday evening - for the ninth day in a row - in dissatisfaction with the government's decision to shelve talks on joining the European Union until 2028.
In front of the parliament building, riot police intervened, using water cannon to disperse the protesters and made arrests.
Protesters also gathered in other places in Tbilisi, including in front of the headquarters of Georgian public radio - accused of being a propaganda tool - at the ministry of Education and at the offices of the tourist agency. There were also protests in Batumi, Georgia's second-largest city, on the coast of the Black Sea.
Prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the ruling Georgian Dream party, which is close to Russia, said the Interior ministry was “successfully neutralising protesters”.
Two more opposition figures were detained on Friday. A Tbilisi court ordered two months' pre-trial detention for Aleko Elisashvili, leader of the pro-European political alliance Strong Georgia, for allegedly assaulting a member of Georgian Dream. Nika Gvaramia of the liberal pro-European party Ahali was sentenced to 12 days in prison: he was beaten when he was arrested on Wednesday, television footage showed.
Police use water cannon to disperse anti-government protesters in Tbilisi, 7 December 2024 © BELGA PHOTO KAREN MINASYAN / AFP
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