The ancient streets of Georgia's capital city were again choked with smoke on Sunday night, as anti-government protests continued into a fourth consecutive night.

Georgia's rights ombudsman on Tuesday accused police of torturing pro-European Union protesters rallying for six consecutive days against the government's decision to shelve EU accession talks amid a post-election crisis.

All the while neighbouring Russia trains a close eye, comparing events to Ukraine’s “Maidan”, when its unpopular president was ousted by pro-EU protesters in February 2014 and Russian troops and their proxies moved in to seize parts of the country.