2011 Georgian protests
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Events
The protests began on 21 May 2011 when over 10,000 Georgians attended a demonstration in Tbilisi demanding Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's resignation. In the southwestern city of Batumi some demonstrations also occurred with some protesters attempting to break into television building. Nino Burjanadze, an ex-parliamentary speaker and leader of the Democratic Movement-United Georgia party, has been a lead figure in the demonstrations. The protesters in Batumi briefly clashed with police.
On 26 May at about 00:15, Georgian police began to suppress the protests with tear gas and rubber bullets, and the protests soon ended.
On 28 May, a separate demonstration was held with thousands of participants, protesting against violence both by the protesters and by the police.
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Arrests
In early June, Georgian authorities arrested and charged Badri Bitsadze, husband of former parliament speaker Nino Burdzhanadze, with attempting to orchestrate the government takeover using paramilitary groups during the violent anti-government protests. There have been 105 other arrests of protesters.
Reactions
Mikheil Saakashvilli alleged that the protestors were backed by Russia and had provoked the violence. Likewise John R. Bass, the American ambassador to Georgia, stated that "here were clearly a number of people included in that protest who were not interested in peacefully protesting, but were looking to spark a violent confrontation." The Georgian Interior Ministry released video recordings that it claims show opposition members discussing how to instigate clashes with police The Economist, meanwhile, spoke of an attempt by Burjanadze to "claw her way back to power".
Irakli Alasania (an opposition leader who disassociated himself from the protests early on) opined that the protests were doomed to failure because:
The era when politicians can just call people on the streets is over. Georgia is building a new political culture. People want to determine Georgia’s future through elections.
Investigation
After the change of power in Georgia in 2012, the new government opened investigation into dispersal of the 2011 protests. On February 27, 2014, former Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili was found guilty by the Tbilisi City Court of exceeding official powers during the protests by ordering break up of rally in Tbilisi with the use of excessive force. He was sentenced to six years in prison, which was reduced to 4 years and 6 months due to amnesty. On September 20, 2016, the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia charged four former Constitutional Security Department officials for their handling of the protests.