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Georgia marks a year of protests

December 7, 2025

Georgia has experienced an unprecedented year of sustained pro-European Union protests following the disputed October 2024 parliamentary elections and the government's subsequent suspension of EU integration efforts. The demonstrations, which began with thousands gathering on Tbilisi's Rustaveli Avenue, have been met with severe police violence including tear gas, water cannons, and mass arrests of over 450 protesters in the initial weeks alone. The ruling Georgian Dream party has responded by implementing increasingly authoritarian measures, including banning protest gear, dramatically increasing fines for road-blocking, restricting media funding, and bringing criminal charges against opposition leaders for alleged coup attempts.

Who is affected

  • Protesters demonstrating for EU integration and against Georgian Dream policies
  • Journalists and media workers (over a dozen injured, including Guram Rogava with life-threatening injuries; OC Media co-founder Mariam Nikuradze had camera destroyed; photojournalist Mariam Mekantsishvili suffered broken rib)
  • Over 450 detained protesters in first two weeks alone
  • Opposition leaders facing criminal charges and arrests
  • Media founder Mzia Amaghlobeli (sentenced to two years in prison)
  • Theatre actors and actor Andro Chichinadze (arrested)
  • Specific named protesters: Archil Museliantsi, Megi Diasamidze, Droa leader Elene Khoshtaria (imprisoned), Zurab Menteashvili (first criminal road-blocking charge), Ioseb Kheoshvili (disabled protester with multiple fines), Nino Datashvili (released on bail after health deteriorated)
  • Miners striking in Chiatura
  • Internally displaced persons (IDPs) and socially vulnerable families evicted in Samgori District
  • Independent media outlets (22 united for crowdfunding)
  • Former United National Movement party (UNM) targeted by commission
  • Georgian diplomatic passport holders (visa-free EU travel suspended)
  • Georgian Public Broadcaster staff (politically motivated firings)
  • Former prime minister Irakli Gharibashvili (under corruption investigation)

What action is being taken

  • Hundreds to thousands continue protesting daily on Rustaveli Avenue and other locations
  • Protesters are marching on smaller streets in response to mass police deployments
  • Protesters are symbolically handcuffing themselves together to avoid arrest
  • Police are deploying en masse to prevent road-blocking and blocking even sidewalks
  • Dozens are being detained for resisting or insulting officers
  • Anyone leading marches with a megaphone is risking immediate arrest
  • Courts are processing charges against detained protesters (though most charges are collapsing in court, detainees are still being fined or jailed administratively)
  • Mothers of imprisoned protesters are traveling across Georgia, meeting residents and distributing newspapers with letters from detainees
  • Disabled protester Ioseb Kheoshvili continues demonstrating despite multiple fines
  • Protesters continue celebrating imprisoned protesters' birthdays outside prisons
  • The 22 independent media outlets are crowdfunding for survival under the slogan "The lights must stay on"

Why it matters

  • This year-long movement represents Georgia's most sustained period of civil resistance and marks a critical juncture in the country's geopolitical orientation between European integration and what many perceive as authoritarianism. The government's response—including severe police brutality, mass arrests, escalating financial penalties, media restrictions, and criminal charges against opposition leaders—signals what the article describes as an "unmistakable" shift toward authoritarianism. The protests matter because they challenge the legitimacy of the disputed October 2024 elections and the ruling party's abandonment of EU integration, which threatens Georgia's democratic trajectory and Western aspirations. The movement has also exposed the extent to which the government is willing to suppress dissent through violence, legal persecution, and restrictions on civil liberties. International consequences, such as the EU suspending visa-free travel for Georgian diplomatic passport holders, demonstrate that Georgia's internal political crisis has broader regional implications for its relationship with European institutions and its future as a democracy.

What's next

  • The duration of the protest movement remains uncertain
  • Charges and trials against detained protesters are ongoing, with some protesters facing four to 15 years in prison
  • Major opposition leaders face sweeping charges including coup attempts and unlawful coordination with foreign states (carrying penalties up to 15 years)
  • Zurab Menteashvili remains in pre-trial detention for criminal road-blocking charges
  • Droa leader Elene Khoshtaria remains imprisoned after refusing bail
  • Former prime minister Irakli Gharibashvili has agreed to cooperate with corruption investigation

Read full article from source: Global Voices

Georgia marks a year of protests