Twenty-one-year-old Ia and her friends came to the Saturday rally prepared, dressed all in black, wearing helmets and gas masks.
“If we wear something colourful it will be easier to identify us, and if they identify us we are going to jail,” she said, referring to the AI surveillance cameras installed on the main Rustaveli Avenue – the focal point for the ongoing protests.
Hundreds of protesters have been penalised with massive 5,000 Georgian lari ($1,835; £1,362) fines for what the authorities consider an illegal act of “blocking the streets”.
“I want Georgian Dream to go. I want my country back. I want to be able to live peacefully and for my friends who are in jail, illegally imprisoned, to be free.”
Ia sarcastically referred to the ruling party as “Russian Dream”. This sentiment is shared by many of the anti-government protesters.
In the regions the Georgian Dream party enjoys support with its message that it can keep the peace, while in urban centres many Georgians believe their government is acting in Russia’s interests.
The protest took place on the day of the municipal elections boycotted by most mainstream opposition parties, whose leaders are in jail.
