Opposition Leader and TI-Georgia Executive Assaulted in Batumi
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Giorgi Gakharia, leader of the opposition For Georgia party and former Prime Minister, and Zviad Koridze, journalist and Transparency International (TI) Georgia member, were both physically assaulted on the night of January 15 at the Sheraton Hotel in Batumi. Though the incidents occurred separately, both have sparked accusations of politically motivated violence.
Gakharia sustained a broken nose and a concussion after being assaulted, reportedly by Georgian Dream (GD) MP Dimitri Samkharadze, Adjara's Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Giorgi Manvelidze, and several other GD MPs, according to journalist Gela Mtivlishvili. The For Georgia party described the assault as a "coordinated group attack orchestrated by Ivanishvili's regime."
Natia Mezvrishvili, a senior leader of the For Georgia party, directly blamed Bidzina Ivanishvili, citing his earlier threats against Gakharia, who left GD in 2021 to form the opposition party.
Batumi Sheraton manager Megi Zghenti confirmed the existence of video recordings of both assaults and stated that the hotel is ready to hand them over to the relevant authorities. However, Zghenti noted that the police, who are conducting the investigation, have not yet retrieved the recordings.
Zghenti also clarified that the hotel keeps surveillance footage for about a month. Addressing questions about a brief video aired by Imedi TV, Zghenti explained that the footage did not come from the Sheraton's cameras but was filmed by someone at the scene.
In a separate incident at the same venue, Zviad Koridze was also attacked, reportedly by the same individuals involved in Gakharia's assault. Koridze, who sustained an eye injury, was hospitalized. TI-Georgia condemned the assault as a deliberate act of retaliation against the civil sector and called for an immediate investigation.
The Ministry of Interior has launched an investigation under Article 126 of the Criminal Code, which pertains to violence causing physical pain without resulting in deliberate injury, in Gakharia's case. However, it remains unclear whether a separate investigation has been opened for the attack on Koridze.
The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics and TI-Georgia have strongly condemned the incidents, demanding accountability and justice for the attacks. The Charter emphasized the need for the Ministry of Internal Affairs to act swiftly to ensure that those responsible face the full extent of the law.
