Large crowds marched in Tbilisi on November 28 to mark the anniversary of the non-stop protests triggered by Georgian Dream’s 2024 controversial announcement on halting EU integration.
Protesters gathered at Tbilisi State University and headed with a dynamic march to the parliament on Tbilisi’s Rustaveli Avenue, which has remained the epicenter of daily rallies throughout the year. Activists, politicians, and other prominent voices of protest addressed the rally at the parliament.
The decision to freeze the EU accession process last year ignited widespread public anger, with Georgians rallying in more than 30 towns and cities – as well as abroad – sparking what is considered the largest wave of protests in decades.
Authorities responded with police force and repression. In the first days of the demonstrations, hundreds of people, including protesters and media workers, were detained, beaten, and ill-treated.
More than a hundred people remain in jail, either on trial or already convicted on criminal charges. A large share of them were arrested during the first weeks of the demonstrations or in the aftermath of the October 4, 2025, tensions. Among those jailed are protesters, including students, teachers, and poets, as well as several opposition leaders and journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli.
The ruling party doubled down on its crackdown on independent media, civil society groups, and the opposition, employing new repressive laws, inspections, and criminal investigations.
However, the resistance has given rise to new movements and grassroots political groups.
Still, Georgians have protested every day since, adapting protest forms and tactics to Georgian Dream’s repressive measures aimed at stifling dissent. Daily rallies have continued throughout October and November, despite yet another series of repressive laws that, human rights groups say, effectively criminalize peaceful protest.
Despite the stated attempts, Georgian Dream has largely failed to reset the relations with the West and continues to struggle with international isolation.
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