Helene Khoshtaria, one of the leaders of Georgia’s opposition Coalition for Change, was arrested on September 15 on charges of damage or destruction of property after writing “Russian Dream” on campaign banners for Tbilisi mayor Kakha Kaladze. If found guilty she may face up to five years in prison.

Kaladze is the mayoral candidate for the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party. He is seeking a third term in municipal elections scheduled for October 4 in the Caucasus country.

Several major opposition blocs – including C4C – are boycotting the vote, insisting that to run would be to legitimise the rule of GD, which they accuse of rigging last year’s parliamentary election.

As the vote has drawn nearer, Kaladze’s campaign HQ on Tbilisi’s Melikishvili Avenue has emerged as a new protest epicentre within Georgia’s anti-government, pro-European resistance movement, which has gripped Tbilisi and other cities across the country for months.

On September 8, a violent attack by GD loyalists on a crowd of demonstrators gathered outside the campaign offices left several injured, including journalists.

In the wake of the clashes, Georgia’s interior ministry arrested two alleged ruling party supporters – Zaza Mamaladze and Irakli Buachidze – for assaulting protesters. The pair were later released without charge, despite being caught on video attacking individuals.

Three protesters were also detained, among them 23-year-old student Megi Diasamidze, who at a subsequent protest on September 9 graffitied “Russian Dream” in black paint on Kakha Kaladze’s election campaign banner.

She was later granted non-custodial bail of GEL2,000 (roughly $740) by the Tbilisi City Court and released on September 12.

Many in Georgia accuse the Georgian Dream government of sabotaging the country’s EU accession process in favour of closer ties with Moscow. These allegaitons intensified last November following GD's suspension of membership negotiations with he EU.

On September 14, opposition leader Helene Khoshtaria posted a video on Facebook showing herself writing the words “Russian Dream” and “Russian” on banners outside Kaladze’s campaign HQ.

The words “Solidarity with Megi!” captioned the post.

The same day the Georgian authorities opened a probe under Article 187 of the country’s criminal code, which covers damage to or destruction of property.

The offence carries a penalty ranging from a fine and community service to five years in prison.

According to Georgia’s interior ministry, the investigation was opened by the request of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

On September 15, Khoshtaria shared a video on social media showing a group of plainclothes officers detaining her outside her home.

Her detention was later confirmed by the interior ministry.

Following her arrest, Kaladze commented that the pro-Western opposition were of “no interest to anyone” and “irrelevant”, hence their attempts to “remind the Georgian population of themselves through crimes”.

Five Georgian pro-Western opposition leaders remain in jail, all charged with failing to appear before a controversial commission launched by GD to probe the activities of the former ruling United National Movement government.