23:34, 20 March 2026

Protesters gathered on Rustaveli Avenue for the 478th time.

Supporters of Georgia's European integration protested outside the parliament building for the 478th consecutive evening. Police were given special conditions for visiting the cathedral where the farewell to Patriarch Ilia II is taking place.

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, on March 19, the 476th day of continuous protests, opposition members cancelled the planned weekend marches in Tbilisi and Kutaisi in connection with the death of Patriarch Ilia II. At the rally on March 20, supporters of Georgia's European integration reminded of their refusal to recognize the Georgian Dream as the legitimate government.

Participants in the ongoing protest demanding the release of political prisoners and new parliamentary elections in Georgia gathered today on the pedestrian section of Rustaveli Avenue for the 478th consecutive evening, Publika reports.

Protesters traditionally brought national flags, EU flags, and posters with various protest slogans, according to a Facebook post by photographer Mo Se and Georgian media*.

One of the protesters held a poster with a poem by political prisoner and poet Zviad Ratiani: "They said we lost this Georgia with our sincere and free love."

In October, the Tbilisi City Court found poet Zviad Ratiani guilty of assaulting a police officer during a protest and sentenced him to two years in prison. He had been in custody since June 23, the day police detained Ratiani during a daily protest outside the Georgian Parliament. According to law enforcement, Ratiani allegedly struck one of the officers on the arm. Ratiani participated in the protests outside the Georgian parliament from the very beginning. On the first night of the protests, November 28-29, he was detained and brutally beaten by special forces, after which he was arrested for eight days. As a result of the beating, Ratiani suffered a broken nose and jaw. "They put me in a car and beat me nonstop. They said, 'We're going to break you, let's see how you squirm.' "They couldn't break me," Ratiani's story is quoted in the article "JAMnews: Stories of Protesters Beaten in Tbilisi".

Police officers were given special access to Sameba Cathedral, where a memorial service for Patriarch Ilia II is taking place: a "separate lane" without barriers was allocated for them, while ordinary people have to stand in line for 6-8 hours, Tbilisi_life notes.

Archimandrite Dorote Kurashvili, who supports pro-European protests, noted that "no one expected" such a large number of people at the memorial service. "I'm sure the patriarch didn't expect it either. I barely got here on the third day, there were so many people here. "The Patriarch knew the Georgian people and knew that they would understand the silent Patriarch and understand why he remained silent," Pirveli TV quoted Kurashvili as saying.

Protesters in Georgia have been demanding new parliamentary elections and the release of political prisoners since November 28, 2024. Security forces violently dispersed the protests, using tear gas and water cannons, and detained protesters. Thousands of people were subjected to administrative prosecution during the protests. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report entitled "The Main Thing About the Persecution of Protesters in Georgia".

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/421774