Despite increasing repression in Georgia, thousands of people once again demonstrated against their pro-Russian government on Monday, February 3, for the 68th day in a row. The protesters are calling for new elections to be held after the October 26, 2024, legislative poll, which was deemed "rigged" and granted a fourth term to the ruling Georgian Dream party. They are also demanding the release of demonstrators imprisoned since the start of the pro-European movement.
The day before, demonstrations were brutally repressed in Tbilisi. The independent TV station Pirveli broadcast images showing police violently beating arrested protesters. Law enforcement officers also arrested two opposition leaders, Nika Melia, of the liberal pro-European Akhali party, and Guigui Ugoulava, a former mayor of Tbilisi. The two men were taking part with thousands of other people in an attempt to block a freeway at the entrance to the capital. Prior to this action, the Georgian Interior Ministry had warned that such a blockade could be considered "a crime punishable by up to four years in prison."
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