Georgia: The Last Uphill
Since November, Georgians have flooded the streets (again), protesting a regime accused of abandoning democracy. Tear gas, arrests, and brutality meet a united fight for freedom and EU integration.
Big protest waves have emerged across Georgia since November 28th, following the statement of the illegitimate prime minister of the country, Irakli Kobakhidze, on halting the EU accession until 2028, which is, in its nature, an anti-constitutional act.
In just six weeks, Georgia has witnessed enough political maneuvering to fill an entire season of high-stakes drama. The ruling party, Georgian Dream, hasn’t merely rocked the boat—it has thrown the entire political kitchen into disarray, concocting a ’soup‘ of constitutional breaches, electoral manipulations, and bold power grabs. Citizens and observers alike are wondering: just how much more spice can this pot handle? Prepare yourself—this tale is as complex as it is bewildering.
What happened after the Announcement was made on November 28th?
A very bad soup. Main ingredients: violence, injustice, intimidations. Secret ingredients: pepper spray and tear gas.
Mass protests emerged immediately from the office of the Georgian Dream in Tbilisi promptly moving to the main Rustaveli avenue. On the first night, the police were mobilized alongside the water jet machine and riot police throwing gas grenades and spraying pepper sprays. The protest quickly became violent: people were brutally beaten and detained. A young woman said, that what she witnessed on the first night of the protest was beyond imagined. “My friend and I ran to help a person that was beaten by ten or fifteen cops on the ground when I was caught by one of the riot police. Of course, I got scared and started resisting when two more came and started beating and insulting me. I was begging them to let me go. ‚What did you think when you were coming to the protest you whore?! Now you’ll get what you deserve!’” The respondent mentioned that she lost her consciousness when she felt at danger of raping and physical abuse. “It was a nightmare. I wasn’t scared of being taken to the police station or the court. I got scared of the people, who are not scared of anything and have an impunity syndrome. They know that whatever they do, no one will punish them.”
© Lela Jobava
Unfolding of Events
Living in Georgia, it was easy to see and feel that Georgian Dream (GD) has made a sharp turn from the Western political vector to the Russian one right after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia. It was obvious by every announcement made by the GD party members: zero support and empathy towards Ukraine, accusing the West of the creation of the “Global War Party” and attempts to drag Georgia into the war, and zero words about Russia being an aggressor. With this political move, the Georgian Dream is endangering the country’s future by taking over state institutions, disregarding the constitution, silencing civil society, rigging elections, weakening long-standing Western alliances, persecuting dissenting voices, and putting one man’s interests above the people’s will.
Besides the fact that the elections on October 26th were neither free nor fair (according to local and international observers and the independent media), the government continues its one-party rule and finalized its plan to seize full control of state institutions on December 14th by appointing a president who is deeply loyal to the regime and unlikely to serve as a strong counterbalance to the government. This illegitimate president, Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former footballer and the leader of one of the GD’s satellite parties “People’s Power”, approved several legislative changes on his inauguration day, right after being sworn in. This made people even angrier. Meanwhile, the president elected by the people, Salome Zourabichvili, is not leaving her post and hoping for the EU and the US to urgently impose sanctions on Ivanishvili and other members of the GD party, who are partial in the latest crimes committed against their people.
At the time of writing this article in mid-January, the 50th day of the protests is taking place. School children, students, professors, artists, cooks, winemakers, architects, journalists, scholars, civil servants and united fans of different football clubs are marching together, but it is not enough to stop this violent regime. “The protests have never been as active as now. People are beyond angry – more than 500 people have been detained, people pay fines, and the court is biased and there is no governmental institution left, that will protect the people. That is the worst – when you are certain that the police and the court won’t protect you!”, said restaurant manager and wine producer Maiko Zakaraia. “This regime won’t only affect our freedom and EU accession, but the business, education, social and cultural affairs. What we are protesting now is not only halting the EU accession, but it is the fight for our freedom and independence. I, as an internally displaced person from Abkhazia, do not want to leave my home again, just because the country is governed by a group of little men, who are dictated by Russia.”
Psychologist and a member of the political movement “Freedom Square”, Davit Jincharadze, explained what the techniques behind the political agenda of GD are. He said that in these turbulent times, what the so-called government does is sow fear of physical abuse, harassment, war, death etc. “They are using this as a tool to make people scared, so they sit at home and do not protest. But what we see is that all of the previous experiences of beating people, negligence from the police and brutality had an unexpected backlash everywhere in the country. They (GD) didn’t count on this.”
One of the most tangible resistance acts was made by the former employee of the Special Tasks Department, Irakli Shaishmelashvili, who left the job when the events at the protests went beyond the allowed. In an interview with Radio Liberty, he mentioned that all orders come directly from Russia, and that there are many employees in the Ministry of Internal Affairs who disagree with the current authoritarian developments of the politics and the brutality from the police. These employees are under pressure and are not allowed to express their alternative opinions.
The unjust Court, fear the Power of the People!
It is not much of a secret that there are no institutions left that are not biased under the Georgian Dream’s betrayal ideology. It took years and a lot of money for the GD’s founding father, the already sanctioned oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, to create and maintain such loyalty among businessmen, politicians, propagandist media, the church, judges and ordinary people. Now like never before, the role of an unbiased judiciary system is vital. However, the reality is the contrary – judges are acting according to the rules that GD has brought into the game.
“The unjust court, fear the power of the people” – this chanting became one of the most famous in Georgia since November 28th, following another chant: “No justice, no peace!”
Another citizen and activist, Nika D., was detained in the night of November 28th. He was accused of group violence and went through court, after which he had to pay a fine of 2.500 GEL (860 euros). “There is plenty of video evidence where the viewer and of course the police and the judge could see that at the moment when I and my friend were detained, I was standing still and chatting with my friends. I didn’t even notice when and why the riot police approached and started dragging us to the police cars.” Since that moment he realized that they do not need a distinct reason to detain someone. “This time they started doing it in the same style as they do in Russia – no compromises.” Nika mentioned that during the hearing process at the Supreme Court, the witnesses were fake. “The ones who detained and beat me were not the ones who were represented in court. I have never seen these people before.”
To this day, there are hearings of the prisoners of the current oppressive political regime before the court, but the politicised judiciary and police system in Georgia are not likely to change yet.
© Lela Jobava
Meanwhile, the independent media representatives are being attacked too by the regime. Mzia Amaghlobeli, the founder and director of the news outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, known for fearless government criticism and a commitment to upholding transparency and human rights, was arrested on January 11th during a protest in Batumi.
She was charged with assaulting a police officer, specifically for slapping Batumi Police Chief Irakli Dgebuadze during the demonstration. Following her arrest, a Batumi court ordered her to remain in pretrial detention pending trial. She is facing up to 4-7 years in prison. Her detention has sparked significant concern among media professionals and human rights organizations, who view it as a direct attack on independent media in Georgia. The Georgian Media Ombudsman voiced grave concern over Mzia Amaghlobeli’s detention, noting that her outlets are known for bold criticism of the government. The arrest is seen as a troubling attack on free speech. The Ombudsman called for an investigation into rights violations during her arrest and urged her immediate release.
As one might already figured out, the situation in Georgia is remindful of Belarus today: everything that remains independent also remains a target for the current illegitimate government. However, the fight for regaining free media, free justice, free police and people is going on and it seems like a long battle. “I see the light at the end of the tunnel,” said activist and leader of the group of emigrants of Georgia, Tamara Jobava. She said it is very difficult sometimes to be outside every day, in different locations. “But I believe in our victory, which we will reach through tireless, consistent hard work!”
In the meantime, the protests continue, and people are waiting for more efficient sanctions of the GD party members from the EU and the US. “What is really important now is that the EU and the US, who are our strategic partners, wake up and realize that there is a real danger of another authoritarian regime emerging in the region of the Caucasus, which will be a threat to democracy in the region and beyond,” said Jobava.
LELA JOBAVA graduated from Caucasus University with a degree in European Studies. She is a conflict researcher and a journalist from Gali, Abkhazia. Driven by her passion for conflict-driven reporting, storytelling, and filmmaking, Lela is committed to covering diverse ethnic, religious, linguistic, and gender-related topics, and crafting distinctive stories that highlight unique perspectives. Lela is particularly invested in providing coverage of current affairs and uncovering the untold stories of the unhurried pace of life in Abkhazia, which has remained concealed under the veil of globalization. The themes of memory and identity are integral elements in her work.
