Protesters, who had spent a second night occupying an area of Chavchavadze Avenue in front of Tbilisi State University, were forcibly dispersed in the early hours of November 19 by Georgian police.

The peaceful protest camp was set up two days earlier at a major intersection in the Georgian capital by Georgia’s pro-Western opposition and thousands of their supporters. It marked the latest phase of demonstration against the results of Georgia’s October 26 parliamentary elections, in which the increasingly illiberal Georgia Dream party claimed victory amid allegations of fraud and electoral violations. The opposition claim the vote was rigged and since the vote have led frequent protests demanding a new round of elections.

Around 7am Tbilisi time on November 19, over 30 hours since the protest began on Chavchavadze, hundreds of police entered the area, dismantling tents and clearing other items from the site. 

The few hundred protesters who were present in the camp at the time of the raid were outnumbered significantly by the security forces, who gave them 15 minutes to leave the camp. The police were met with little resistance and advanced in tight formations, pushing protesters away from the State University and along Melikishvili Avenue, which eventually meets Rustaveli.

Several fleeing protesters suffered injuries at the hands of the security forces, which were comprised of the standard patrol police along with men dressed in black bearing no identification.

Nika Kvitatiani, a member of Coalition for Change, the opposition group that initiated the protest camp, was injured and was taken to hospital in an ambulance. Opposition channel Mtavari TV reported that its cameraman, Sergeri Baramidze, was beaten by police as he was filming the proceedings. Footage posted to X by those at the scene show a half-naked Baramidze being dragged forcefully to a police car, his damaged camera left lying in the road. The cameraman has since been released.

According to human rights organisations, at least 10 others have been violently detained, including a member of opposition party Ahali, Saba Skhvitardze and a number of civil activists. The precise number and identities of those arrested is, as yet, unclear. 

There are reports being posted to X from those present of the police using pepper spray against protesters, along with numerous photos and videos of violent clashes and aggressive handling of protesters by the security forces. Nika Melia, a leader of the Coalition for Change, was pictured surrounded by policemen struggling to free himself from their hold.

At the time of writing, protesters were regrouping on Melikishvili Avenue, and calling for others to join them. They were situated between the Tbilisi Philharmonic hotel and the State University, facing a police cordon.

The situation is currently calm, but footage circulating on X shows riot control vehicles equipped with water cannons entering Tbilisi and heading for the protest site. These were purchased by the Ministry of Internal Affairs just before the October elections and will likely be used against protesters on Melikishvili if they don’t disperse.

Opposition leaders have announced a “mobile” form of protest, meaning demonstrators will remain on the move in an effort to mitigate clashes with law enforcement.

Giorgi Vashadze, the leader of the Strategy Agmashenebeli opposition party, addressed those who had fled the camp, urging them to “keep moving, maintain a safe distance from the police, avoid any confrontation, and do not give them a reason for arrests”. 

Against this backdrop, Georgia’s pro-Western President Salome Zourabichvili, who supports the opposition protests and has declared she does not recognise the election results, will file a lawsuit at Georgia’s Constitutional Court, citing widespread breaches of voter secrecy at polling stations on October 26.

The international community is displaying solidarity with Georgia’s opposition forces. Speaking on Monday, the EU High Representative of Foreign Affairs Josef Borrell announced the bloc would send a technical mission to Georgia to investigate the ongoing political crisis, with the intention of highlighting democratic backsliding under Georgian Dream, diverting Georgia’s course away from the European Union.