21:35, 10 January 2026

Protesters in Tbilisi demanded an investigation into the "kamit"

On the 409th day of protests, supporters of European integration marched to the Georgian parliament building, demanding new parliamentary elections, the release of political prisoners, and an international investigation into the use of gas to disperse the protests.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on January 8, the 407th day of daily protests, supporters of Georgia's European integration changed the form of their protest by joining a tour of cultural and historical heritage sites in Tbilisi. The activists declared they would fight until prisoners of conscience are released and new elections are called.

Protesters in Georgia have been demanding new parliamentary elections and the release of political prisoners since November 28, 2024. They hold daily protests on Rustaveli Avenue. In October 2025, after laws on public gatherings and demonstrations were tightened, security forces began to arrest protesters en masse on Rustaveli Avenue. Most of them were accused of blocking the avenue and obstructing traffic.

Protesters march from the Philharmonic Hall to the legislative building. On the 409th day of continuous protests, the demonstrators' demands remain unchanged: early elections and the release of prisoners detained during the protests.

They also have another demand: an international investigation into the substances the Ministry of Internal Affairs used against demonstrators in November-December 2024, Interpressnews reports.

The Georgian State Security Service has launched an investigation following BBC reports that the country's authorities used chemical substances against protesters during the dispersal of anti-government rallies in Tbilisi in 2024. Participants in daily protests outside the Georgian parliament since December 1 have been demanding a full investigation. On December 5, they demanded the names of the chemicals used to disperse the protesters be made public. The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs never purchased "kamit"; it purchased and used a substance called "chlorobenzylidine malononitrile" at the protests, the State Security Service of Georgia stated on December 6. The service has closed its investigation into abuses of power by security forces but continued its investigation into hostile actions against the country in connection with the BBC report. At the weekly Saturday marches, protesters demand an international investigation.

Citizens carry EU and Georgian flags. Patrol police have been mobilized at the scene, Interpressnews reports.

During the march, protesters detained the car of Vasil Maglaperidze, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Public Television, for several minutes. Noticing him in the car, the marchers began chanting, "Public Television for the People," "Our Voices Are Not Heard on Public Television," and "Freedom for the Regime's Prisoners," and also hung photographs of detained prisoners on the car's windshield.

Georgia's fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, joined the traditional Saturday march. "A year of change is coming, and I am deeply convinced that these changes will end in victory," TV Pirveli quoted her as saying.

By the time the protest march returned to parliament, an army of police had already formed up on Rustaveli Avenue and quickly pushed the protesters off the roadway, Tbilisi Life reports.

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/419818