Georgian Police Beat Protesters And Press, Seize Cameras

"We came here to hold a peaceful rally. When we arrived and started the protest the police immediately started to crack down, beating people with batons and sticks," one of the protesters, 22-year-old Levan Soselia, told AFP.

People were running to escape and the police were chasing us and beating us," he said.

Police seized cameras and other equipment from photographers attempting to cover the incident. At least one photographer was badly beaten.

Police seized cameras from photographers and cameramen, including a Reuters photographer. The cameras were later returned but the Reuters photographer's images had been erased. Other photographers said their memory cards had been taken.

Opposition leader Nino Burjanadze said the incident was "an attempt to provoke a civil confrontation."

At the scene, Burjanadze told AFP that the "crackdown" was a result of the international community's failure to condemn Georgian authorities for what the opposition claims are illegal arrests of its supporters.

Deputy Interior Minister Eka Zguladze said 39 protesters in all were rounded up because they had resisted police who tried to arrest several men accused of assaulting lawmakers in an earlier incident. They also were blocking a public street, she said.