Georgian opposition leader arrested as pro-EU protesters block highway

Police in Georgia arrested several anti-government protesters on Sunday as thousands of demonstrators demanding new parliamentary elections briefly blocked a motorway on the edge of the capital Tbilisi.

A Reuters reporter saw three protesters being arrested, including Nika Melia, a leader of the country’s largest opposition party, the Coalition for Change. Former Tbilisi Mayor Giorgi Ugulava was also arrested, local media reported.

Georgians have been rallying nightly since November, when the ruling Georgian Dream party said it was suspending European Union accession talks until 2028, abruptly halting a long-standing national goal.

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.

Protests had dwindled in recent weeks but they renewed with greater force on Sunday when a crowd of thousands of people gathered outside a shopping complex on the northern edge of Tbilisi and briefly blocked the road leading out of the city.

Police presence at the rally was considerable. Earlier on Sunday, the Interior Ministry warned protesters that blocking the motorway was a criminal offence.

One protester was seen by the side of the road, unconscious. Reuters was unable to establish what had happened to him.

Unverified video footage posted on social media showed scores of police in balaclavas beating protesters on the streets and others carrying away injured demonstrators into ambulances.