TBILISI, October 26 – Georgian police have detained 60 protesters over the past three days for violating rules on public assembly, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Sunday, as tensions continued around ongoing demonstrations outside parliament in central Tbilisi.
According to the ministry, those arrested face administrative penalties under Georgia’s Code of Administrative Offenses for blocking traffic on Rustaveli Avenue, the capital’s main thoroughfare. Police said demonstrators ignored repeated warnings to move off the road and continue their protest from the sidewalk.
“Participants once again unlawfully blocked the carriageway, obstructing vehicle movement,” the statement said, adding that officers had “repeatedly called on demonstrators to refrain from illegal actions.”
Authorities warned that protesters who continue to defy police instructions could face harsher legal measures. “We urge participants to refrain from unlawful behavior; otherwise, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will take appropriate actions as defined by law,” the statement read.
The protest, now in its 312th day, began last year with demands for new elections and the release of detained activists. While most arrests in recent days have been brief administrative detentions, at least one protester this week was charged under the Criminal Code and could face up to seven years in prison for allegedly assaulting a taxi driver and damaging a police car during a rally.
The growing number of detentions underscores an increasingly firm police approach since early October, when the government began enforcing newly tightened regulations on demonstrations that block public roads, which state that traffic cannot be blocked unless the size of the crowd necessitates it.
