Zurab Japaridze, leader of the Georgian Girchi More Freedom party, was arrested and beaten along with other politicians who took part in the March 7 protests. According to the party's Twitter account, the police hit him in the head with a baton and continued to beat him at the police station.
Japaridze's associates claim that he needs urgent hospitalization. This information was confirmed on his Facebook by the politician's brother Gia Japaridze, noting that the office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, human rights activists and some foreign embassies have already been notified about what is happening.
The Special Investigation Service has launched an investigation into police abuse of power during the arrest of Zurab Japaridze and other protesters, Novosti-Georgia reports .
Earlier, on March 8, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia reported that 66 people were detained during a protest rally held the day before in Tbilisi. They are accused of petty hooliganism and disobedience to the police. About 50 police officers were injured in clashes with protesters, according to the Interior Ministry.
The action near the parliament building was caused by the adoption in the first reading of the law on "foreign agents", which the opposition considers repressive.