TBILISI -- Georgian authorities arrested several opposition figures during anti-government protests on the streets of Tbilisi on February 2, prompting the European Union to again condemn what it termed the "brutal crackdown" on dissent.
At least one of the detained protesters -- Nika Melia, a leader of the Coalition for Change -- was later released but said he was subject to physical violence while being held by the police.
The Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to RFE/RL's request for comment on the reported arrests from the protest -- held on and around the Tbilisi Mall -- as anti-government demonstrators rallied for the 67th consecutive night.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas condemned the latest action against demonstrators, journalists, and opposition politicians.
"The brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters, journalists, and politicians tonight in Tbilisi is unacceptable," she wrote on X.
"Georgia falls short of any expectation from a candidate country. The EU stands with the people of Georgia in their fight for freedom and democracy."
Video from the February 2 protest shows Melia being held and forcibly led away by black-clad security personnel.
Melia later told opposition TV Pirveli that at least 25 others were arrested during the day and that some were also subject to physical violence while being held.
Former Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava, another opposition figure, was also arrested, an AFP journalist on the scene reported.
Also held was Tamar Tevzadze, a student activist from Tbilisi's Ilia State University. Video from her arrest appears to show her screaming as multiple security personnel hold her on the ground.
Claims of violence carried out by police cannot immediately be verified, but many protesters detained over recent months have reported being physically beaten while under detention and during the demonstrations themselves, often by masked men wielding baseball bats.
The government has denied any wrongdoing during the protests.
Georgia received EU candidate status in December 2023, but ties with Brussels first became tense following the adoption in May 2024 of a controversial Russian-style "foreign agent" law pushed through parliament by the Georgian Dream party, which has been in power since 2012.
Relations with the West deteriorated further amid the government's violent crackdown on protesters angered by Georgian Dream’s distancing itself from the EU, its perceived tilt toward Russia, and in reaction to last year's disputed election in the Caucasus nation.
Georgian Dream claimed victory in the October parliamentary vote, which the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said was marred by instances of vote-buying, double-voting, physical violence, and intimidation.
The authorities responded violently to the anti-government demonstrations, arresting hundreds of people and surveilling participants with Chinese-made cameras with facial-recognition capabilities.
Former President Salome Zurabishvili -- who broke with the government during her term and sided with protesters -- on January 18 told Fox News that the United States and Europe have a "stake" in defending Georgian democracy against both an "unconstitutional" government in Tbilisi and potential Russian interference.
On December 29, Georgian Dream pushed through its candidate, Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former soccer player and right-wing populist, as the country's new president.
However, Zurabishvili, his predecessor, continues to call herself Georgia's "only legitimate president" and is recognized as president by Georgia’s opposition amid widespread claims the country’s parliamentary elections were not free and fair.
