საინფორმაციო სააგენტო ინტერპრესნიუსი

Poet Zviad Ratiani was arrested at a protest rally near the parliament on charges of assaulting a police officer.

Does anyone in the EU still doubt that Georgian Dream has chosen the path of dictatorship? - the European Parliament rapporteur on Georgia, MEP Rasa Juknevičienė writes on her X page.

Opposition leaders in handcuffs, NGO's under assault, journalists in jail. Quo vadis Georgia? - the German Ambassador to Georgia, Peter Fischer, writes on the social platform X.

“These arrests are happening because there is no other way for them to maintain their power — because the regime needs to escalate tensions more and more and show its strength that way. If they weren’t afraid of us being free, they wouldn’t arrest us. We know very well that they are afraid,” – said Giorgi Vashadze, leader of Strategy Aghmashenebeli, on PalitraNews's program 360 Degrees.

"I expressed serious concern over the continuous erosion of democratic foundations in Georgia at the Foreign Affairs Council," – EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, wrote on X.

"Did they appear before the commission? No. According to Georgian legislation, is failure to appear a crime? Yes. Therefore, people committed a crime and were given the appropriate punishment," said Mamuka Mdinaradze, Executive Secretary of "Georgian Dream," assessing the detention of "Lelo – Strong Georgia" leaders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze.

"Our goal is to punish those specific individuals who are violating human rights in Georgia," – this is how the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, responded to a question from Tamar Nutsubidze, editor of Euroscope, regarding the arrest of opposition politicians in Georgia and possible sanctions.

"While the world looks elsewhere, Georgia’s ruling party, following rigged elections, is imprisoning opponents one after another," stated European Parliament member Natalie Loiseau in response to the verdicts issued against Zurab Girchi Japaridze, one of the leaders of the "Coalition for Change," and Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, leaders of "Lelo – Strong Georgia."

"We are ready to consider additional restrictive measures against those responsible for repressions in Georgia," stated Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, during a press conference following the conclusion of the EU Foreign Affairs Ministers’ meeting.

The leaders of "Lelo – Strong Georgia," Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, have been detained.

"Georgian Dream" is amending the Law "On Freedom of Speech and Expression" – by the decision of the parliamentary majority, several provisions of this law are being removed, and issues related to freedom of speech and expression are being regulated in a new manner.