Broken bones and open wounds. The President of Georgia describes the protests on the networks

The announcement by the ruling Georgian Dream party to suspend talks on joining the European Union worsened the already tense mood among Georgians and sparked protests not only in the capital but across the country. Clashes between pro-democracy protesters and the police intensified in recent days, the police dispersed the demonstrators with water cannons and tear gas, and the demonstrators threw pyrotechnics at the police.

“Most of the arrested protesters have injuries to the head and face, broken bones in the face, open wounds,” Zurabišviliová writes about the fourth night of clashes on the X network.

“Demonstrators were systematically beaten between arrest and transfer to already overcrowded prisons,” he adds, referring to lawyers. At the same time, the Georgian Prime Minister announced that he ruled out the possibility of negotiations with the opposition.

According to the Georgian Ministry of the Interior, almost 250 protesters were detained for misdemeanors, some were fined by the police, and others were imprisoned for a short time. At least dozens of them were injured.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia decided to impose sanctions on Georgian officials due to police violence. “As three Baltic states, we have jointly agreed to impose sanctions against those who suppress legitimate protests in Georgia,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis wrote on the social network X. “Opponents of democracy and those who violate human rights are not welcome in our countries “, he continued.

The United States condemned the Georgian police for the disproportionate use of force, Reuters writes. At the same time, referring to the Georgian authorities, he states that 21 police officers were injured during the night protests, and 113 have been injured since the beginning of the riots.

On Monday night, the police continued to disperse protesters who were building barricades in the center of Tbilisi. “Another night of Georgians fighting for the constitution and their European choice,” Zurabišviliová writes in Monday’s post. He adds that the determination of the demonstrators is strong and the protests are not abating.

Since the beginning of the protests, the Georgian president has been calling on European countries to confront what is happening in the country. Like the demonstrator, he states that Russia is trying to take control over Georgia. The ruling Georgian Dream party rejects this claim.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied that Russia interfered in the situation in Georgia, and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned on Sunday that Georgia is following the Ukrainian path into a dark abyss.

Accession to the EU is Georgia’s goal enshrined in the constitution. According to Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobachidze, the start of negotiations on joining the European Union will not be included in the agenda until 2028. The Georgian Dream party there adopted the law despite long-term protests by citizens.

In a statement on its website on Monday, Czech diplomacy expressed “regret” over Kobachidze’s words and condemned the suppression of protests. “The Czech Republic strongly condemns the violence against peaceful demonstrators, journalists and representatives of the opposition,” the Foreign Ministry said.