We are now closing this blog but you can read all our European news coverage here.
Summary of the day
Georgian security forces used water cannon, teargas and stun grenades against protesters outside parliament overnight, sharply escalating a crackdown after lawmakers debated a “foreign agents” bill that is viewed by the opposition and western nations as authoritarian and Russian-inspired.
63 people were detained in Georgia during a protest against the ‘foreign agents’ bill and six police officers were injured, Georgia’s interior ministry said.
Transparency International Georgia called for an investigation into police conduct during last night’s protests.
The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association said that “peaceful protest is a mechanism for promoting democratic processes in the hands of citizens, and any attempt to suppress it is an anti-constitutional act.”
Georgia’s ombudsman visited detainees and injured opposition figures.
The leader of Georgia’s main opposition party, Levan Khabeishvili, wrote that “if my beating prevented that of another, young activist, I’m only happy it happened to me This country belongs to the passionate next generation, whom I follow till the end.”
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said today that he “strongly” condemns violence against protesters and said use of force is “unacceptable.”
Borrell also said “Georgia is an EU candidate country, I call on its authorities to ensure the right to peaceful assembly. Use of force to suppress it is unacceptable.”
The Swedish foreign ministry said “use of force to suppress peaceful demonstrations is unacceptable. The EU and Sweden are closely following and evaluating the events in Georgia.”
Michael Roth, chairman of the German Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee, called on Georgia’s leadership to stop the violence and withdraw the foreign agents bill.
Peter Fischer, the German ambassador to Georgia, has raised concern about “violence and personal injuries” in the Tbilisi protests.
German Green member of the European parliament Viola von Cramon called for “concrete consequences.”
“I am heartbroken to hear Ivanishvili’s vision for Georgia’s future,” said Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s foreign minister.
David McAllister, the chair of the European parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said the “brutal crackdown” underlines “the very concerning direction the Georgian government has taken with regard to democratic freedoms.”
