Opposition leaders were among those arrested on Sunday, as thousands of demonstrators gathered for a rally on the outskirts of the capital, Tbilisi, where they briefly blocked a motorway.
Nika Melia, who leads the country’s main opposition party, claimed he was attacked in police custody before later being released.
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Unverified videos on social media showed masked security forces beating protesters on the street and carrying the injured to ambulances, the Reuters news agency reported.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, said the “EU stands with the people of Georgia in their fight for freedom and democracy.”
In a post on X, she added: “The brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters, journalists and politicians tonight in Tbilisi is unacceptable.
“Georgia falls short of any expectation from a candidate country [to join the EU].”
‘I was kicked by police’
The Caucasian country remains a candidate to become a member of the pan-European bloc, but in November the ruling Georgian Dream party suspended accession talks, which prompted the ongoing wave of protests.
Georgian Dream held onto power in a disputed election in October that opposition parties say was rigged. The government says the vote was fair and free.
Melia, leader of the largest opposition group, the Coalition for Change, said on local TV that around 25 people were arrested in total on Sunday, which was the 67th consecutive night of protests.
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He was later released on bail and told journalists that he was attacked.
“At the police station, I was sitting on a chair in handcuffs and was kicked by a police officer,” the Interfax agency cited Melia as telling journalists afterwards.
He claimed that others were also subjected to violence, according to RFE/RL news.
Georgia’s ombudsman, also known as the public defender, called on the country’s police watchdog to investigate security forces’ actions and take action against those “criminally responsible” of breaching the law.
“The facts of improper treatment and excessive use of force by the police against citizens, journalists and politicians, which are reflected in the video footage distributed in public sources, are disturbing,” Levan Ioseliani wrote, quoted by the Civil Georgia news website.
‘Sanctions cannot be delayed’
The Georgian protests had started to dwindle in recent weeks but Sunday’s gathering was a show of force as crowds gathered outside a shopping complex on the northern edge of Tbilisi and briefly blocked the road leading out of the city.
The police presence at the rally was considerable. Ahead of the event, the interior ministry warned protesters that blocking the motorway was a criminal offense.
In a response to Kallas’ social media post, Georgia’s Giorgi Gakharia, an opposition leader and former prime minister, wrote that “EU solidarity must translate into more concrete actions now.”
“Coordinated and combined EU and Member States’ national sanctions against those responsible cannot be delayed any longer,” he wrote.
“We need to immediately secure release of political prisoners and achieve new elections.”
The European Union has approved the suspension of visa-free travel for Georgian officials holding diplomatic passports, while allies in Ukraine and the U.S. have slapped sanctions on individuals linked to the governing party in Tbilisi.
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