Former Georgian Dream MP and Olympic wrestler Luka (Eldar) Kurtanidze, who was detained for assaulting his ex-wife Khatuna Mikatsadze, faces up to five years in prison. In public interviews, Mikatsadze spoke of severe abuse by her former husband, while Kurtanidze’s lawyer denied the allegations, claiming they were part of a politically motivated provocation.
Kurtanidze was detained on Sunday, just hours after his ex-wife released footage showing the former MP attacking her. On Monday, he was remanded to pretrial detention.
The Interior Ministry stated that Kurtanidze had violated an obligation set by a protective order issued by the court against him by contacting his former spouse and physically assaulting her.
Since being detained, the charges against Kurtanidze have been upgraded — in addition to domestic violence and violating the terms of a protective order, the prosecution has also accused him of damaging Mikatsadze’s car. As a result, the potential sentence has increased from up to two years to up to five years in prison.
The video that led to Kurtanidze’s detention was filmed in the coastal town of Kobuleti in Adjara region. It showed Kurtanidze moving toward Mikatsadze while cursing and shouting.
Later, Mikatsadze released additional videos showing injuries on her body after the incident, as well as recounting that in previous years, police had failed to respond properly to her complaints against Kurtanidze — something she attributed to Kurtanidze’s public profile and his successful wrestling career.
‘Every time I turned to the police, they told me that since he is Eldar Kurtanidze, “let’s not ruin him” and suggested limiting the charges to psychological abuse’, she said.
Kurtanidze’s wrestling career began in the 1990s, and over the years, he became a multiple-time World and European champion, as well as a two-time Olympic bronze medalist.
In 2012, he joined the Georgian Dream party, founded by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, which won the parliamentary elections in October that year and has remained in power ever since. From 2012 to 2014, Kurtanidze served as president of the Georgian Wrestling Federation, and between 2013 and 2015, he was vice-rector of the Police Academy under the Ministry of Internal Affairs. From 2015–2016, Kurtanidze served as a member of parliament representing Georgian Dream.
‘I had to save my life’
In an interview with RFE/RL following Kurtanidze’s arrest, his ex-wife said that the former MP began abusing her shortly in 2014, shortly after their marriage.
According to her, one of the most severe incidents took place in 2016, during his time as an MP, in the city of Kutaisi, where the Georgian Parliament was based at the time. Mikatsadze recounted that Kurtanidze first brutally beat her, then locked her inside a rented apartment. She said she managed to escape only with the help of neighbors by climbing out through the balcony.
‘I couldn’t even tell anymore what was more dangerous — staying inside or escaping through the balcony. One thing I knew for sure: I had to run. I had to save my life’, she said.
Tamar Nebieridze, the lawyer representing Mikatsadze, stated that the police had been aware of Kurtanidze’s abuse for the past six years, but had limited their response to issuing restraining orders without launching any criminal investigations.
According to Nebieridze, in 2025, when Kurtanidze began threatening Mikatsadze’s child as well, the court finally issued a protective order valid for nine months. It is the violation of this protective order that constitutes one of the charges Kurtanidze is currently facing.
Speaking to RFE/RL, Mikatsadze said that the house in Kobuleti, where the incident took place, had belonged entirely to her until 2020, but she was forced to transfer half of it to Kurtanidze after being threatened by him. According to her, when she saw Kurtanidze’s car at the gate on Sunday, she called the police — but, she emphasised, Kurtanidze did not hesitate to assault her even in the presence of law enforcement.
‘I hope that now, especially since police officers witnessed the physical violence, they can no longer claim it was psychological abuse’, Mikatsadze said in a video, showing a shot of a bandaged elbow stained with blood and adding that her knees were also injured.
She added that Kurtanidze had threatened her, saying, ‘I am the government, I am the state, and you are opposing the state’.
During the hearing at Batumi City Court, Kurtanidze denied the charges. His lawyer, Ivane Meparishvili, told the media that his client had not committed any act of violence and accused Mikatsadze of being a ‘provocateur’ acting in favor of the opposition party, the United National Movement (UNM).
‘Kurtanidze has become the victim of a major provocation by forces seeking to sow destabilisation and unrest in society’, he told IPN.
Regarding the property dispute, Meparishvili presented a version that contradicted Mikatsadze’s account, claiming that his client, on the contrary, had supported his ex-wife’s well-being.
This is not the first time Kurtanidze has been accused of violence against a woman.
In 2023, TV Pirveli reported that a woman had filed a complaint against Kurtanidze for physical and sexual violence while she was pregnant.
At the time, the prosecutor in charge of the case, Mariam Meshveliani, confirmed toTV Pirveli that a complaint had been filed but stated that ‘apart from the plaintiff’s testimony, the investigative body had no other direct evidence that would specifically confirm any act of violence by Eldar Kurtanidze against the victim’.
The prosecutor also said that after filing the complaint, the woman changed her testimony. When asked why the case had not been closed if there were no grounds for criminal prosecution, Meshveliani stated that expert examinations had been ordered and the relevant conclusions had not yet been received.
OC Media has contacted the Prosecutor General’s Office to obtain information about the current status of the case, but has not yet received an answer.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
