Photo : Collected
Georgian police Tuesday reportedly beat and arrested protesters rallying against alleged fraud in last month's elections, denounced by the pro-Western opposition as rigged in favour of the governing party.
The European Union and the United States have called for a probe into electoral "irregularities" during the October 26 vote won by the Georgian Dream party.
Opposition parties have refused to recognise the result or enter the newly elected parliament, which they deem "illegitimate". Tens of thousands have taken to the streets in Tbilisi to protest the alleged electoral fraud.
On Tuesday morning, police dispersed a sit-in protest outside Tbilisi State University where dozens of demonstrators had set up tents, blocking traffic on one of the main streets in the Georgian capital, independent TV stations Pirveli and Mtavari reported.
Several demonstrators and at least one journalist were beaten and detained, their footage showed.
The leader of the opposition Akhali party, Nika Gvaramia, said members of his "party's political council have been detained and injured. Party activists have been beaten and arrested."
Ahead of the crackdown, the interior ministry urged protesters to disperse, saying "freedom of assembly and expression does not include the right to deliberately disrupt road traffic or the normal rhythm of citizens' daily lives".
The opposition has announced a new mass rally for when the new legislature holds its first session. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday that the bloc "will send a mission to Georgia... and the election will have to be investigated".
President Salome Zurabishvili -- at loggerheads with Georgia Dream -- has also called the vote illegitimate and accused Russia of interference, a claim Moscow has denied.
She joined the opposition's calls for a fresh vote, saying she would not issue a decree to convene the new parliament and would challenge the election result in a constitutional court.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, of Georgia Dream, has insisted the elections were free and fair and said parliament would convene next Monday even without a presidential summons from Zurabishvili.
Critics have blamed the increasingly conservative party for derailing Georgia from its European path and bringing Tbilisi back into Moscow's orbit.
Messenger/JRTarek
