Fifth night of protests in Georgia, Canada announces sanctions

Police in the Georgian capital again dispersed thousands of protesters on Monday evening, after more than 200 people were arrested during the past four nights of protests against the government’s decision to suspend EU accession negotiations until 2028.

The Georgian Interior Ministry said on Monday that 224 demonstrators were arrested for administrative reasons and three for criminal reasons.

To date, 113 police officers also required medical treatment and three others were hospitalized following clashes with demonstrators, who threw fireworks at the police.

Georgian President Salomé Zourabichvili says many arrested protesters have head and facial wounds, including broken bones and eye injuries.

Lawyers representing the detainees say several of them were beaten between their arrest and their transport to detention centers.

Canada announces sanctions

Faced with this violent repression, the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Jolie, expressed her solidarity with the Georgian people.

She also announced that Canada would follow the example of the Baltic countries by imposing sanctions on “those who repress the demonstrations in Georgia”.

“We are very concerned about what Russia is trying to do in Georgia and we will sanction individuals, companies, entities responsible for human rights violations or corruption based on our own sanctions regime”she declares.

The Georgian government has decided to suspend the country’s EU membership negotiations until at least 2028after the European Parliament questioned the legitimacy recent legislative elections won by the Georgian Dream party.

Five days later, protests spread beyond the capital to other cities, and several Georgian schools and universities staged strikes and protests.