Police in Georgia turn increasingly brutal as mass protests over ending EU talks enter second week

Associated Press

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgian authorities are responding to ongoing protests fueled by the governing party’s decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union with increasing force. Examples of police brutality are everywhere. An opposition leader was dragged into a police car and arrested. Georgian journalist Guram Rogava was doing a live broadcast from a protest when a riot policeman rushed up to him and hit him in the head. Rogava said he’s lucky to be able to move his hands and talk after the assault. Riot police have used water cannons and tear gas every day to disperse the rallies and beat scores of protesters who threw fireworks at police officers and built barricades on the Georgian capital’s central boulevard.