Protests initially broke out against a contested parliamentary election in October which the opposition accused the Georgian Dream of rigging but they took on a new dimension after the decision last Thursday to put EU accession talks on hold until 2028.
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00:00A delegation from the European Parliament has visited Georgia and marched with pro-EU
00:07protesters. That comes as demonstrations against the government's decision to suspend accession
00:13talks are now in a second week. Police have reportedly resorted to more heavy-handed tactics
00:18in a bid to clamp down on the unrest, with more than 400 protesters detained and at least
00:23100 treated for injuries. The ruling Georgian dream retained control of parliament in the
00:29disputed 26th October elections. The opposition accused the governing party of rigging the
00:35vote with the help of neighbouring Russia to keep what they call the Moscow-friendly
00:39Georgian dream in power. But the protests against the election took on a new dimension
00:45after the Georgian dream's decision on 28th November to put EU accession talks on hold
00:50until 2028. That decision was in response to a European Parliament resolution that criticised
00:56the elections as neither free nor fair. International observers say they saw instances of violence,
01:02bribery and double voting at the polls, prompting some EU lawmakers to demand a rerun.