Georgia appears caught in a vicious cycle in which intensifying anti-government protests prompt authorities to respond with the escalating use of force and repression. Government efforts to contain resistance to its policies have expanded to raids on opposition offices and activists’ homes, widening arrests and the saturation of central Tbilisi with tear gas. 

Special riot troops have detained more than 300 citizens during a week of protests, which were sparked by the ruling Georgian Dream party’s decision to halt European Union integration efforts. Most detainees assert they have been tortured while in custody, with some requiring hospitalization.

“We are witnessing systematic and mass acts of torture committed against civilian population,” a prominent human rights group, the Georgian Young Lawyers Association, said in a statement.  

The Georgian Dream government, whose legitimacy and anti-Western track are being challenged by the political opposition and large part of Georgian society, has steadily increased its use of repressive tactics in recent days to quell the rising popular resistance. 

On the night of December 4, for example, police set up an ambush at a downtown subway station, frisking and detaining young men as they emerged from the escalators to join the demonstration on central Rustaveli Avenue. Commuters, mainly older women, wrestled with the police to defend the young men from arrests. 

Earlier on the same day, police raided offices of oppositions groups and apartments of activists, making several arrests. A group of police officers beat opposition leader Nika Gvaramia in front of his Ahali party HQ in Tbilisi. Masked officers carried an unconscious Gvaramia by his limbs and shoved him into a vehicle. Gvaramia was later released, but several opposition figures and activists remain in custody.

The government crackdown is helping to galvanize a stronger spirit of cooperation among opposition parties. On December 5, the four main opposition forces that competed in the October 26 parliamentary elections announced they were joining forces to establish an information center concerning fast-moving events, with the aim of countering government disinformation efforts. Opposition leaders, for instance, insist that reports that police discovered Molotov cocktails during raids conducted on December 4 are made up.

Condemnations of Georgian authorities’ actions has poured in from the United States and the European Union. “We call on Georgian Dream to cease its repressive tactics, including the use of arbitrary detention and physical violence, to attempt to silence its critics,” said US State Secretary Antony Blinken, adding that Washington was going to respond with sanctions. 

The EU called on Georgian authorities to “stop using excessive force and ensure freedom of assembly,” while the bloc’s individual members took their own measures against Georgian Dream. 

Three Baltic states slapped entry bans on Georgians officials, including Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri, his deputies, and notorious special troops chief Zviad Kharazshvili, aka Khareba. Most prominently, the list includes oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, the creator and informal boss of Georgian Dream. “Opponents of democracy and violators of human rights are not welcome in our countries,” Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said in a joint statement. 

On December 5, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp announced he would propose that Brussels suspend the right of visa-free travel for Georgians to the EU in response to the government’s “unacceptable” crackdown on peaceful protesters.

Earlier on, Germany suspended development collaboration with Georgia, citing concerns over democratic backsliding and Georgia’s walking away from the path of European integration. For its part, the US suspended the strategic partnership agreement with Georgia. On December 5, Ukraine announced sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against Ivanishvili and his associates. 

Protests have occurred nightly since November 28. Immediately after the government’s announcement about the suspension of EU accession efforts, crowds poured into the streets in main cities, with Tbilisi’s Rustaveli Avenue becoming the focal point of opposition. Riot police have countered protesters using water cannons, tear gas and pepper sprays, but also hunting down and beating demonstrators. Protesters throw firecrackers and brickbats back at the police force. 

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and other Georgian Dream officials accuse forces in the EU and US of conspiring to stage a revolution in Georgia. He threatened opposition groups and civil society organizations, accusing them of participating in an alleged coup. Kobakhidze also says that his government is battling what he calls global liberal fascism.