Sawt Falasteen - Georgia police arrest two opposition leaders at protest

The Black Sea nation has been rocked by daily mass protests since the Georgian Dream party claimed victory in October parliamentary elections rejected by the opposition as falsified.

Its critics accuse the government of democratic backsliding and of moving Tbilisi closer to Russia.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze's announcement on November 28 that his cabinet would not pursue the opening of European Union membership talks with Brussels until 2028 further fuelled the demonstrations.

On Sunday, police detained the leader of the liberal pro-European Akhali party, Nika Melia, and former Tbilisi mayor Gigi Ugulava, a prominent opposition figure, an AFP reporter saw.

The arrests -- condemned by the EU's top diplomat -- were made as thousands of demonstrators attempted to block a highway entrance to the capital, Tbilisi.

Both Melia and Ugulava had spent years in prison under Georgian Dream's rule on charges that rights groups have denounced as politically motivated.

Several other people were also detained during the protest, with at least one appearing to have been injured.

The independent TV station Pirveli aired footage showing police brutally beating detained protesters.

- 'Democracy on the line' -

Late on Sunday EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas blasted the arrests.

"The brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters, journalists and politicians tonight in Tbilisi is unacceptable," Kallas wrote on X.

Georgia's rights ombudsman, Levan Ioseliani, warned in a statement of "instances of mistreatment and excessive use of force by the police against citizens, journalists, and politicians".

At the protest itself, 22-year-old university student Kote Baramia, told AFP: "All this police violence just proves the government is scared.

"Georgians will not back down, our democracy is on the line."

The head of the Tbilisi police special task department, Zviad Kharazishvili -- sanctioned by Britain and the United States for human rights violations -- was heard hurling obscenities at demonstrators.

Demonstrators marched for kilometres towards the parliament building, the site of their daily protests.

Before the rally, the interior ministry issued a statement warning demonstrators that blocking the highway "is a criminal offence punishable by up to four years in prison".

In the first wave of protests that began in late November, riot police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowds, arresting more than 400 demonstrators, according to the interior ministry.

Ioseliani -- Georgia's top human-rights official -- and Amnesty International have accused police of torturing those arrested.

- Unprecedented crisis -

Georgian rights activists have denounced what they say is a mounting campaign of intimidation, beatings and arrests against those taking to the streets.

Tbilisi's security forces and judiciary have faced persistent accusations of repression against the ruling party's opponents.

Accused by Brussels and Washington of democratic backsliding and steering EU-candidate Tbilisi away from its European path, the Georgian Dream government is facing growing international isolation.

On Monday, Brussels suspended visa-free travel to the EU for Georgian diplomats and officials. It cited the adoption of several repressive laws and the "violent repression by Georgian authorities against peaceful protesters, politicians, and independent media".

Last year, the United States and several European countries imposed sanctions on Georgian officials, pointing to the Tbilisi government's drift toward Russia and its violent crackdown on protesters and dissent following the disputed election.

Amid the largest anti-government protest movement in its history, Georgia is also grappling with an unprecedented constitutional crisis, as the opposition refuses to enter the newly elected parliament.

Pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili has declared both the legislature and the government illegitimate.

Her successor -- ruling party loyalist and far-right politician Mikheil Kavelashvili -- was inaugurated on December 29 following a controversial election procedure, but Zurabishvili has insisted that she remains the legitimate leader.

T.Khatib--SF-PST