Demonstrators in Tbilisi protested the lawsuit to ban opposition parties.
Demonstrators gathered in the center of Tbilisi on the 686th day of protests to express their disagreement with the pro-Russian course of the Georgian authorities and the attempts of the authorities to ban opposition political parties through the Constitutional Court.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on October 13, demonstrators in Tbilisi on the 685th day of protests demanded the release of political prisoners and called on their fellow citizens to continue the fight for freedom.
Today, citizens of Georgia took to the streets for the 686th evening in a row for a daily rally at the parliament and city council of Tbilisi with national flags and European Union flags, demanding a return of the country to a Euro-Atlantic course, the release of political prisoners, the abolition of repressive mechanisms, and the holding of elections in a free and fair environment, reports Publika.
Demonstrators held placards: "Russians in Georgia are not tourists, but occupiers", "Down with the oppressive regime", "Collapse of the regime", "Georgia without Ivanishvili", "Don't be afraid!" and "Slavery will never be called peace", according to a publication on the page of photographer Giorgi Mosiashvili (Mo Se) on Facebook*.
Some placards expressed citizens' protest regarding the threat of banning opposition political parties in the country: "You ban parties, what are you going to do with the voters?!", "Bidzina saw an alternative and banned it, but you don't see?".
On October 13, the Plenary of the Constitutional Court accepted for consideration the constitutional lawsuit of the "Georgian Dream" to ban opposition political parties. The ruling party is seeking to ban almost all opposition political forces – its lawsuit lists "Unity – National Movement", "Coalition for Changes", "Strong Georgia – Lelo", "Federalist Party", and "Gakharia for Georgia". Court hearings are scheduled for October 21, 22, and 23 in Batumi. The expedited schedule of hearings has drawn sharp criticism from the European Union, reports the Pirveli TV company.
Former President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili stated that the Constitutional Court has long become a tool of political persecution. According to the fifth president of Georgia, she experienced this firsthand when the impeachment process was underway against her, reports the Pirveli TV company.
"If we had a good constitutional court, we would have a court, and in general, human rights and constitutional order in Georgia would be protected, which is not the case now," Zourabichvili said.
The fifth president also assessed the ruling team's decision in the context of banning opposition parties and noted that this action is through which "Georgian Dream" incites the court to adopt another repressive law. "Members of the 'Georgian Dream' act at whim, deciding that these political parties should be banned, although all political activity and all political parties have already been so restricted that it is hard to imagine what they are now trying to achieve with this," she said.
In his social media post, the leader of the "For Georgia" party, Giorgi Gakharia, called on international partners to monitor the ongoing processes more vigilantly. "What is happening in Georgia today is a Russian hybrid war," he wrote.
According to him, a misjudgment of this threat by Western partners will be as fatal a mistake as the inadequate response to the war in Georgia in 2008, which tragically led to events in Crimea in 2014 and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
"If Russia wins this hybrid war in Georgia, the consequences will not be limited to this; the next target will be the former Soviet republics and Eastern Europe. Do not repeat the same mistake," wrote Giorgi Gakharia.