JAKARTA - Georgia prosecutors on Monday charged five opposition figures on charges of seeking to overthrow the government after a demonstration on Saturday that led to clashes between police and demonstrators.
Georgia's opposition supporters rallied in downtown Tbilisi on Saturday, with some leaders pledging a "peaceful revolution" on local election days boycotted by the largest opposition blocs.
Minutes before the vote closed, a small group of protesters tried to push into the presidential palace, before being chased away by riot police who used tear gas and water cannons.
Reported by Reuters on Monday, October 6, charges against the five men could be subject to a maximum prison sentence of nine years. Meanwhile officials said the protests were an attempt to seize power.
Georgia has been rocked by protests for more than a year, with opposition supporters accusing the ruling Georgia Dream party of being authoritarian, and trying to drag the country, once one of the most pro-West Soviet Union's successors, back to Russia, a charge Georgia denies.
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The protest movement has eased in recent months, although night demonstrations are still closing Jalan Rustaveli in downtown Tbilisi.
In October 2024, Georgia's dream came to a landslide victory in parliamentary elections. The opposition said the results were fraudulent; Georgia authorities said elections were free and fair.
Under Georgia's Dream, relations with Western countries are deteriorating.
In November, the party said it would freeze EU accession negotiations that had abruptly halted its long-initiated national goal.
Georgia's dream of stating it is not pro-Russian and ultimately wants to join the European Union, while maintaining peace with Moscow and preserving what it calls the traditional values of Georgian Orthodox Christians.
The party is widely considered controlled by former billionaire Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, who was sanctioned by the US for what they refer to as a promotion of Russia's interests.
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