More than 100 people were arrested as clashes broke out between Georgian police and protesters over the suspension of EU talks

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — More than 100 protesters were arrested in Georgia overnight as demonstrators clashed with police following the government’s decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union, the country’s interior ministry said Saturday.

It was the second night of protests in a row after Prime Minister Iraqi Kobakhidze of the ruling Georgian Dream party announced the decision the day before. Protesters clashed with police late Friday in several major Georgian cities, including the capital Tbilisi and the Black Sea port of Batumi.

The Associated Press saw demonstrators in Tbilisi being chased and beaten by police as demonstrators gathered outside the country’s parliament building.

Riot police used water cannons to push protesters away from the building and later pushed them further back onto Rustaveli Avenue, the city’s main boulevard.

The police also used great force against members of the media and shouted profanities and insults at the crowd over loudspeakers.

Georgian Dream’s controversial victory in the October 26 parliamentary election, widely seen as a referendum on Georgia’s ambitions to join the European Union, sparked massive demonstrations and led to a boycott of parliament by the opposition.

The opposition said the vote was rigged with the help of Russia, Georgia’s former imperial ruler, and that Moscow hoped to keep Tbilisi within its sphere of influence.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili joined protesters on Thursday after accusing the government of declaring war on its own people. In an address to the nation on Friday, she called on police not to use force against protesters.

“This is obvious in every respect – no one is ready to accept a Russified Georgia, a Georgia stripped of its constitution or a Georgia in the hands of an illegitimate government and parliament,” Zourabichvili said.

“That’s why so many of you are out here today: I see you. See you on Rustaveli Avenue and in cities across Georgia: Batumi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Akhmeta, Lagodekhi, Telavi. It is unprecedented for the citizens of Georgia to rise up simultaneously and spontaneously in this way.”

The government’s announcement that it would suspend EU membership negotiations came hours after the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning last month’s vote as neither free nor fair. It said the election was another expression of Georgia’s ongoing democratic backsliding, “for which the ruling Georgian Dream party bears full responsibility.”

European election observers said the October vote took place in a divisive atmosphere marked by cases of bribery, double voting and physical violence.

The EU granted candidate candidate status to Georgia in December 2023 on the condition that the country follows the bloc’s recommendations. But accession was put on hold earlier this year and financial support cut after the passage of a “foreign influence” law that was widely seen as a blow to democratic freedoms.

EU lawmakers called for the parliamentary vote to be repeated within a year, under full international supervision and by an independent election administration. They also called on the EU to impose sanctions and limit formal contacts with the Georgian government.

Georgia’s prime minister hit back, denouncing a “cascade of insults” from EU politicians and declaring that “our country’s ill-wishers have turned the European Parliament into a blunt blackmail weapon against Georgia, which is a…” great disgrace for the European Union .”

Kobakhidze also said Georgia would reject any EU budget subsidies until the end of 2028.

Critics accused the Georgian Dream, founded by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shady billionaire who made his fortune in Russia, of becoming increasingly authoritarian and turning toward Moscow. The party has recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on free speech and LGBTQ+ rights.