Georgia arrests opposition figure who urged ‘peaceful revolution’ at polls

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By Lucy Papachristou

TBILISI (Reuters) -Georgian authorities on Thursday arrested Levan Khabeishvili, a leader of the country’s largest opposition party, days after he had called for a “peaceful revolution” at municipal elections scheduled for next month.

A spokesman for the opposition United National Movement (UNM) said Khabeishvili was detained while leaving an interview with opposition TV channel Formula in the capital Tbilisi.

The State Security Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment about possible charges against Khabeishvili. The Interior Ministry said it could not comment.

Authorities in the South Caucasus country are cracking down on pro-European Union opposition figures as street protests continue over a disputed election last October and a subsequent government decision to halt talks on joining the EU.

The upcoming municipal election on October 4 has deepened divisions among the opposition, with some parties, including the UNM, boycotting the vote and others running candidates.

In a speech earlier this month, Khabeishvili urged Georgians to unite ahead of the vote.

“A peaceful overthrow, a peaceful revolution is inevitable, this country needs revolutionary changes, because we need to return to our European family,” he was cited as saying by the Interpress news agency.

Asked to comment on Khabeishvili’s detention, the UNM spokesman said it showed the government was afraid that a loss in the election could herald its eventual loss of power.

Bidzina Ivanishvili, a reclusive billionaire, is the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party and is widely seen as its de facto leader.

GD has said it plans to file a constitutional appeal to ban all opposition parties after the October elections.

Opposition parties have rejected last year’s parliamentary election result and accuse GD of vote-rigging.

An MP since 2020, Khabeishvili appeared in parliament with a bandaged head last year, saying police beat him at a street protest.

Separately on Thursday, Georgian authorities arrested Juansher Burchuladze, a former defence minister, on charges including abuse of power, according to Interpress.

(Reporting by Lucy Papachristou, Editing by William Maclean)