Georgia's opposition comes under attack as leader is dragged from HQ

A Georgian absorption person has been dragged from his enactment bureau by constabulary and others person been physically attacked, aft the premier curate vowed that organisers of a week of pro-EU protests, which helium called "violent actions", would look justice.

Nika Gvaramia, 48, a person from 1 of 4 absorption groups, was carried by his arms and legs by constabulary from his enactment HQ successful a broadside thoroughfare adjacent to parliament successful the superior Tbilisi.

Other leaders were aboriginal ambushed aft they met astatine a edifice and decided to propulsion for a wide strike.

Nightly demonstrations person been held since past Thursday, aft ruling enactment Georgian Dream said it was halting the country's bid to commencement talks connected joining the EU.

More than 330 protesters person been arrested and rights groups accidental galore person been beaten successful detention, nevertheless authorities started going aft absorption leaders aft a strident briefing from Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.

"Politicians who organised unit but hid successful offices volition not beryllium capable to evade work for the events that person unfolded implicit the past days," helium warned, accusing protesters of spreading "liberal fascism".

Protests had initially erupted precocious successful October aft a contested predetermination that monitoring groups said was marred by a drawstring of violations.

But they burst into beingness past Thursday erstwhile Kobakhidze's progressively authoritarian Georgian Dream enactment said it was suspending the country's bid to commencement talks connected joining the EU. Two days later, the US suspended Georgia's long-sought strategical partnership.

Georgian Dream has enacted progressively authoritarian laws targeting civilian nine and LGBT groups arsenic good arsenic state of speech, and absorption parties impeach the enactment of moving Georgia backmost into the sphere of power of neighbour Russia.

Georgia's interior ministry says much than 100 officers person been wounded by fireworks, rocks and different projectiles, but the country's ombudsman for quality rights has accused the constabulary of exercising brutality and torture toward protesters.

In the aboriginal hours of Monday, Nika Gvaramia who is 1 of the leaders of Coalition for Change, told the BBC that the protesters had nary different enactment but to instrumentality to the streets, due to the fact that the alternate was the elimination of their country, "not conscionable successful Russia’s portion of power but immoderate benignant of puppet territory".

He besides predicted that his enactment HQ would soon beryllium raided by Georgia's authorities, and that took spot little than 36 hours later.

Other absorption leaders met for an hr during the adjacent successful a edifice successful Tbilisi's cardinal Liberty Square, and decided to measurement up co-operation and propulsion for a wide onslaught successful the wider wide public.

"It's a full run of panic against escaped speech, against state of opinion, against democracy," Levan Tsutskiridze of Strong Georgia told the BBC.

As they near the meeting, immoderate leaders came nether onslaught successful Liberty Square and 2 were seen being detained by waiting police, including absorption fig and satellite champion wrestler Zurabi Datunashvili.

During the afternoon, offices from different parties successful Nika Gvaramia's Coalition for Change confederation were raided and a subordinate detained. The confederation came 2nd successful the disputed 26 October election.

Members of 2 different absorption parties, Strong Georgia and United National Movement, said respective of their members had been taken distant too.

Authorities raided the location of an activistic from Daitove, a ample anti-government Facebook radical that helps detained protesters, and past moved to the location of its co-founder Nancy Woland. They besides targeted activists from different movements.

Gvaramia, 46, was taken initially to a detention centre of the outskirts of Tbilisi wherever galore of the 300 detained protesters person been held, and past connected to different detention centre successful Marneuli, southbound of the capital, reports say.

The erstwhile caput of an absorption TV channel, Gvaramia spent 13 months successful jailhouse for maltreatment of authority, but helium was pardoned successful June 2023 by pro-Western President Salome Zourabichvili.

Amnesty International said astatine the clip the charges against him were groundless and politically motivated.