Nika Gvaramia, 48, a leader from one of four opposition groups, was carried by his arms and legs by police from his party HQ in a side street next to parliament in the capital Tbilisi. Other leaders were later ambushed after they met at a hotel and decided to push for a general strike.

In a sign of a widening crackdown, security agents have searched the offices and homes of prominent activists and opposition leaders who fear the country is turning closer to Russia.

Georgian police have raided the offices of an opposition party and arrested its leader in an apparent attempt to squelch a wave of mass protests over the decision to suspend negotiations on joining the European Union.