Protests on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi Continue
Protests on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi have been ongoing for nearly two months. Protesters are demanding the release of detainees taken during previous demonstrations and new elections.
Their main goals are justice and electoral reform. They block traffic along the route every day to express their demands.
Two protesters, Davit Lomidze and Temur Zasokhashvili, were recently put in custody by Tbilisi City Court. They were arrested on December 1 for throwing Molotov cocktails at police officers and setting fire to a water cannon truck. They face 4-7 years in prison.
A journalist, Mzia Amaghlobeli, was also kept in pre-trial detention by Kutaisi Court of Appeals. Her lawyers appealed the decision earlier, but it was rejected. She was arrested for slapping a police chief who they claim was being abusive and insulting.
Employees of the Georgian Parliament Research Center recently made a statement saying their director had decided to close the center. They claimed this was because they publicly criticized the government‘s decision to delay EU accession talks until 2028.
A member of the ruling party, Tite Aroshidze, was elected as the new rector of Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University despite student protests against his election. He got 10 out of 11 votes from the academic council and one vote was invalidated.
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