Opposition leader accuses Gov’t of targeting students protesting halted EU integration

Georgian opposition leader and former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia on Monday accused the government of politically targeting students after reports emerged that several protesters at the Shota Rustaveli State University of Theatre and Film had their student status suspended.

In a statement on social media, Gakharia, who leads the Gakharia for Georgia party, expressed support for the students, calling them a “symbol of the struggle for freedom” and condemning what he described as a crackdown on young activists critical of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

“In the confrontation of the past with the future, the past always fails,” Gakharia wrote. “This is the dignity of [Bidzina] Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream which expels students fighting for their homeland from university.” His remarks referred to former Prime Minister and the GD honorary chair Bidzina Ivanishvili, whom critics accuse of exerting informal control over the government.

The controversy arises amid ongoing protests against Georgia’s stalled European Union integration process. Many students and activists have taken to the streets in recent months, accusing the government of undermining the country’s pro-Western aspirations.

University officials, however, have denied any politically motivated action against students. In a statement, the institution clarified that no formal order had been issued to terminate student status and emphasized that affected students could appeal the Ethics Commission’s decision.

The situation reflects broader political tensions in Georgia, where opposition forces have accused the ruling party of suppressing dissent and steering the country away from its European path.