Georgia’s Interior Ministry said more than 100 police officers were injured by fireworks, rocks and other projectiles. But Georgia’s human rights ombudsman accused police of using brutality and torture against protesters.
In the early hours of Monday, Nika Gvaramia, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change, told the BBC that protesters had no choice but to take to the streets. “It’s in Russia’s sphere of influence, but it’s kind of a puppet territory.”
He also predicted that his party headquarters would soon be raided by Georgian authorities, which happened less than 36 hours later.
Other opposition leaders met for an hour at a hotel in Tbilisi’s central Freedom Square during the evening and decided to strengthen cooperation and push for a general strike aimed at the wider public.
“This is a total campaign of terror against freedom of expression, freedom of opinion and democracy,” Levan Tsutskiridze of Strong Georgia told the BBC.
Zurab Girchi Japaridze, another leader of the Coalition for Change, said he felt bad realizing more arrests could come. “You think you’re prepared for this, but you never are.”
As they left the meeting, some leaders were attacked in Freedom Square and two people, including opposition figure and world champion wrestler Zurabi Datunashvili, were seen detained by waiting police.
The opposition said a total of 11 lawmakers were arrested, including powerful Georgian leader Aleko Elisashvili and two associates. The United National Movement said five members of its youth secretariat were also detained.
Authorities also raided the home of an activist from Daitove, a large anti-government Facebook group helping detained protesters, and then moved into the home of its co-founder, Nancy Woland. They also targeted activists from other movements.
