Georgian PM justifies arrests made during protests against delayed EU integration

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday defended the arrests made during protests against his Government’s decision late last year to delay the country’s EU integration until 2028, arguing that accountability was necessary to prevent further unrest. 

Kobakhidze emphasized that it was impossible for hundreds to participate in violent acts without a significant number being held responsible.

"There is no such principle - crime everywhere and no one is guilty. It is impossible for 500 people to commit a crime and 30 people are not guilty. No one can sell such a farce to Georgian society," he claimed. 

He further noted approximately 500 individuals were involved in “serious acts of violence against state institutions, law enforcement, and the country” as a whole. However, only 30 individuals have been arrested. He drew comparisons with two previous incidents of “large-scale violence in Tbilisi - one in 2023 during protests against the controversial foreign agents law, where a single individual was arrested and later pardoned by then President Salome Zourabichvili, and another in spring 2024, where six people were arrested, with one subsequently pardoned.

Kobakhidze argued that the “lack of accountability in these cases had an anti-preventive effect," encouraging further unrest. "When they burn the entire city and no one is caught, of course, this has an encouraging effect," he said.

The PM also maintained that the majority of Georgian society supported national interests and that the ruling Georgian Dream party, “which received 1.12 million votes in the parliamentary elections” last year, represented those interests. He claimed that some protesters were acting under external influence, though he differentiated between those he considered agents and those he viewed as misled but retrievable.

"We are ready to respect each of our citizens, each voter," he said, adding that his government’s task was to "bring back people who have strayed from the path to the national interests of the country."

Kobakhidze also revealed that he had offered to meet with the protesters during the height of the demonstrations, suggesting they choose 10-12 representatives to engage in dialogue. According to him, no one accepted the offer, which he interpreted as evidence of a lack of confidence in their own position.

"This shows that they have a different belief that they are not right," he concluded, reiterating his willingness to “discuss national interests” with anyone, except for those he described as "foreign agents."