Police detain protesters on Rustaveli Avenue.

Tbilisi security forces are making mass arrests of activists who attempted to block traffic on Rustaveli Avenue on the 329th day of continuous protests. According to the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs, about 20 people have been detained.

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, on October 21, the 328th day of continuous protests, protesters managed to briefly block traffic on Rustaveli Avenue, but police forced them to reopen the roadway. Police also made mass arrests of protesters in Tbilisi for violating the rules for holding assemblies and demonstrations in previous days.

The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs reported the arrest of approximately 20 people who attempted to block traffic on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi this evening. Administrative cases have been opened against them.

The protesters were detained for "not heeding the call of law enforcement officers," according to an official statement on the ministry's social media page. Police warned that the number of protesters gathered on Rustaveli Avenue did not give them the legal right to block traffic.

One of those detained on Rustaveli Avenue, a young woman, has been arrested on hooliganism charges for climbing onto a patrol car and insulting police officers, the Ministry of Internal Affairs press service claims.

The protesters who gathered on Rustaveli Avenue today made several attempts to block the roadway. After one protester climbed onto the roof of a police car, security forces began detaining not only those who had stepped onto the avenue, but everyone in sight, Tbilisi_life reports.

According to the channel, journalists were among those detained. "Protesters are being arrested without any reason, regardless of whether they were trying to block the road or not," the publication states.

At least one person was detained for cursing at police officers; security forces reported that he insulted them, according to the Pirveli TV channel.

The activist who climbed onto the police car is named Tamar Lortkipanidze. "We will do to you the same way you did to us... This is for Mzia," Publika quotes her as saying to the police. According to the publication, one of the protesters was injured during the arrest and was hospitalized directly from Rustaveli Avenue.

The protest continues, although traffic on the avenue has been restored, InterPressNews reports.

Protesters in Georgia have been demanding new parliamentary elections and the release of political prisoners since November 28, 2024.. Security forces violently dispersed the protests, using tear gas and water cannons, and detained protesters. Over the course of the protests, more than a thousand people were subjected to administrative prosecution. The "Caucasian Knot" has compiled materials about the parliamentary elections and the protests that followed them on the page "Elections in Georgia-2024".