Georgia arrests dozens as police clash with pro-EU protesters

Police in Georgia arrested dozens of protesters overnight and early Friday morning in a crackdown on unrest over the new government's decision to delay European Union accession talks.

The protests and heavy crackdown comes as more than 100 serving Georgian diplomats have signed an open letter criticizing the government's decision to halt its trajectory toward EU membership.

Reports suggested the police used heavy-handed tacticsImage: Zurab Tsertsvadze/AP Photo/picture alliance

The diplomats said the decision to not pursue EU membership until 2028, announced by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the ruling Georgian Dream party on Thursday, violated the country's constitutional commitment to joining the bloc.

The Black Sea nation has been in turmoil since the increasingly authoritarian ruling party declared victory in October's parliamentary elections that the pro-EU opposition claimed was falsified.

The opposition has accused Georgian Dream of gravitating toward Russia. Thousands of people have taken to the streets since Kobakhidze's announcement. 

EU calls for election to be held again

On Thursday, the European Parliament also cried foul over the controversial nationwide election that saw Georgia's government secure a hefty majority. The EU parliament passed a resolution calling for the vote to be held again as a result of irregularities.

On Thursday night and Friday morning, riot police fired rubber bullets, deployed tear gas and water cannons to quell the protesters who had gathered outside the parliament in Tbilisi, according to the news agency AFP. Police also administered beatings to peaceful protesters and journalists, an AFP reporter witnessed.

Amid the unrest, Georgia's interior ministry said 32 of its staff had been hurt while "43 individuals were detained by law enforcement for disobeying lawful police orders and for petty hooliganism."

jsi/wd (Reuters, AFP)