Student activist Niko Managadze arrested amid Georgia protests

Georgian student activist Niko Managadze, a prominent leader in the Students for Freedom movement, was arrested late last night and transferred to the main police department in Digomi. Authorities accuse Managadze of disobeying police orders and petty hooliganism, both categorized as administrative offenses.

Hours before his arrest, Managadze was summoned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs for questioning but declined to attend, demanding to be heard before a magistrate judge instead.

Managadze, a student at Tbilisi State University, gained prominence earlier this year during protests against the Georgian Dream party’s re-introduction of the controversial “foreign agents” law. He had been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, organizing demonstrations parallel to the PM’s constitutional law lectures and challenging him to explain why the ruling party was pursuing what many have called unconstitutional legislation.

The activist has faced repeated violence and harassment. On June 7, he was attacked near the university after a lecture. Eyewitness footage captured the assault, showing a group striking him with a heavy object, yet the attackers remain at large. Similarly, on April 20, Managadze was physically assaulted after calling the Prime Minister a “puppet of Russia.”

Managadze has also reported threats against his family, including his 14-year-old sister. Despite evidence of these attacks, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has not made any arrests or pressed charges against the alleged perpetrators.

President Salome Zourabichvili condemned the arrest on X, calling it part of the ongoing ‘terror in Georgia.’ “Again arbitrary night arrests, among them one of the leaders Niko Managadze of the student movement Students for Freedom,” she wrote.

The arrest comes amid heightened tensions in Georgia, where authorities have faced criticism for targeting activists, journalists, and opposition figures while escalating measures against peaceful protests.