On the evening of October 9, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Alexander Darakhvelidze, announced the arrest of eight more participants of the protest on the day of the municipal elections. This was reported by «Echo of the Caucasus».
Among those arrested are 71-year-old professor Georgy Chakhunashvili, Coalition for Change member Irakli Chkvirkvia, and designer Iya Darakhvelidze.
On the morning of October 10, it became known that another demonstrator had been detained.
In total, 45 participants of the protest have been arrested, with several others declared wanted. All of them are facing lengthy prison sentences. Most of the detainees have already been taken into custody by court order.
Among those previously detained are the organizers of the October 4 rally: Paata Burchuladze, Paata Mandzhgaladze, Murtaz Zodelava, Irakli Nadiradze, and Lasha Beridze.
On October 6, 13 people were arrested, on October 7 – four, on October 8 – 12 demonstrators, and on October 9, the list increased by another eight.
Recall that on October 4, local government elections were held in Georgia. Eight opposition parties in Georgia announced in July that they would boycott the municipal elections in October.
Due to disputed election results, protests erupted in Georgia, which soon escalated into clashes with the police. The authorities used water cannons to disperse the protesters. Anti-government demonstrators attempted to storm the presidential palace, with some breaching the inner courtyard. There were arrests made, and pepper spray was deployed.