TBILISI, Georgia — Police in Georgia arrested a prominent opposition leader early Monday after using water cannon and tear gas to scatter anti-government protesters who rallied outside Parliament for the fourth straight night. Critics saw that as confirmation of a Russian-influenced shift away from pro-Western policies, something the ruling party denies. The Coalition for Change, the country’s largest opposition party, said in a post on X that Zurab Japaridze, one of its leaders, had been arrested by police while leaving the demonstration. Giorgi Arjevanidze / AFP via Getty Images fileZourabichvili has called for pressure to be brought on the Constitutional Court to annul elections won by the ruling party, Georgian Dream, in October. Tension in Georgia has been building for months as the ruling party has passed laws on “foreign agents” and on curbing LGBT rights.

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Persons: Girogi Arjevanidze, Dmitry Medvedev, Nikoloz Miruashvili, Irakli Kobakhidze, “, ”, Salome Zourabichvili, Ilia Topuria, Giorgi Arjevanidze, Kobakhidze, Zourabichvili Organizations: Georgia — Police, European Union, Critics, Coalition, Russia, Police, France Inter, Getty Locations: TBILISI, Georgia, Russian, Tbilisi , Georgia, AFP, United States, Europe, Asia, Soviet Union, Tbilisi, Georgian, Russia