Sixty-six people arrested at Tbilisi protest against ‘foreign agents’ bill
66 people were arrested in Tbilisi at Tuesday’s protest against the Georgian parliament’s passage of a draft bill on “foreign agents,” the TV network Rustavi 2 reported, citing the country’s Interior Ministry.
The arrestees have been charged with disorderly conduct and disobeying police, and the Interior Ministry has opened an investigation against the protesters for allegedly attacking police and damaging or destroying other people’s property.
The ministry said in a statement that the initially peaceful protest ultimately “took on a violent character,” including when protesters allegedly tried to block the entrance to the country’s parliament building and set it on fire; threw rocks, bottles, and Molotov cocktails at police; and set fire to vehicles.
As Meduza previously reported, police used tear gas, water cannons, and flashbang grenades to disperse protesters.
According to the Interior Ministry, about 50 police officers were injured by the protesters’ “violent actions,” and some of the officers required surgery.
Giorgi Vashadze, the leader of the opposition party Strategy Aghmashenebeli, said that opponents of the “foreign agents” bill plan to gather outside of the parliament building again on March 8.
