Georgia: Crackdown begins on anti-government protesters

Georgia’s prime minister had vowed to punish those participating in the anti-government protests that have engulfed the capital Tbilisi. On Wednesday, it seems, the crackdown began.

Police launched multiple raids on opposition party offices, with one leader reportedly detained and beaten unconscious.

In footage shared by the Coalition for Change party, its leader Nika Gvaramia can be seen arguing with officers. Tensions are high. All of a sudden, things turn violent and the politician disappears under a mass of masked men.

We are unable to independently verify whether he was beaten or not.

But he doesn’t appear to be moving when his body is carried away by police.

Outside the offices of Droa, another opposition party that was targeted by authorities, we saw dozens of masked police officers.

Some formed a wall around the door to the building, as others carried out box after box of Droa’s property, and loaded them onto a lorry.

Activists say it’s an attempt to silence them. If it is, it doesn’t seem to have worked.

“This is alarming of course. This is undemocratic. This is violent. But I did not expect anything else from this government,” Droa executive secretary Giga Lemonjava told Sky News.

“They’re just a criminal gang. They do not have any political legitimacy.

“We’re not scared. We’re going until the end. We won’t give up our European future, our freedom.”

Protesters aren’t giving up either. In a blaze of fireworks and fury, thousands once again filled the main avenue outside Georgia‘s parliament on Wednesday for a seventh night in a row.

Their anger was initially sparked by the government’s suspension of EU accession talks last week, which demonstrators claim has stolen their future.

The ruling Georgian Dream party, they say, is in fact a Russian dream – a Kremlin plot to drag Georgia into Moscow’s orbit.

Read more from Sky News:
Georgians worry about ending up like Ukraine
Protesters undeterred in battle for Georgia’s future

Each night, the protesters have been dispersed by a violent mixture of tear gas, water cannon, and rubber bullets.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has repeatedly praised the police for their response, but others have raised the alarm.

Lasha Uchava, a doctor at the National Institute for Endocrinology, says the water cannon has been mixed with pepper spray. Having seen its effect on demonstrators, he fears it could prove lethal.

“Such dispersal measures should not be used repeatedly on the same group of people,” Dr Uchava told Sky News.

“When clothing becomes saturated in this mixture, the harmful effects on the respiratory system and the skin are prolonged. This can lead to severe problems, including fatal consequences in some cases.”

The protesters hope it’ll be the other way around, of course – that the only consequences are for those cracking down.