Prosecutors in Georgia on Monday charged five opposition figures for an attempt to overthrow the government and seize power after protesters tried to breach the presidential palace during an anti-government protest on Saturday. Thousands of protesters rallied in capital Tbilisi on Saturday boycotting the municipal election and accusing the Georgian Dream party of authoritarianism. The protesters, carrying EU and Georgian flags, urged the release of political prisoners and the end of democratic backsliding.
A few minutes before the polling stations were closed, some protesters sought to breach the president's palace but were stopped by the riot police that used pepper spray and water cannons. The protesters retaliated by erecting barricades and setting fires. Five protestors were detained by police. The charges against the five men carry a maximum prison sentence of nine years.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday announced measures against the opposition forces pledging to "completely neutralize" those responsible for attempting to "overthrow the constitutional order", saying "no one will escape responsibility".
Among the arrested protesters over the weekend was Georgia's prominent opera singer and opposition activist Paata Burchuladz. The charges against them came after European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos condemned the "deteriorating political climate surrounding Georgia's municipal elections."
“Months of raids on independent media, the passing of laws targeting civil society, the jailing of opponents and activists or amendments to the electoral code favoring the ruling party, drastically reduced the possibility of having competitive elections,” her statement read. EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas also criticized the municipal election held in the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million. “The European Union firmly rejects and condemns the disinformation regarding the EU’s role in Georgia and denounces the personal attacks against the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia,” says the statement by Kallas and Kos.
Kobakhidze earlier said EU’s ambassador to Georgia, Paweł Herczyński "bears special responsibility" for what he described as interference into Georgia's politics and support efforts to overthrow the government.
Critics of Georgian Dream party stated that the detained five men will join the ranks of over 60 political prisoners, adding that the country has now more political prisoners per capita than Russia.
