Government opponents threatened and attacked in Georgia

Several opponents of the Georgian Government have reported being threatened or even attacked over the weekend, as the election campaign ahead of October’s parliamentary poll gets underway.

Zura Zabakhidze, a member of the United National Movement–led Unity coalition, told journalists that he was approached and threatened by two unknown men on Saturday. He said the men approached him near his home and told him to leave ‘active political life’ or that ‘the results would not be delayed’.

‘The political team of “Russian Dream” uses all measures in an aggressive manner to intimidate and blackmail people’, Zabakhidze said, referring to the ruling Georgian Dream party.

On Sunday, Niko Managadze, a political activist from For Freedom, an anti-government student group, wrote on Facebook that their car had been vandalised overnight in Anaklia, western Georgia.

For Freedom has been holding meetings across Georgia’s regions to provide information ahead of the 26 October parliamentary elections.

Photos posted by Managadze showed that the car was vandalised with blue paint and had Georgian Dream’s election posters pasted onto it.

‘This is how the morning dawned — the bastards of the regime painted our car’, he said, insisting Georgian Dream would lose the elections.

On Sunday, Grigol Gegelia, a leading member of the opposition Lelo Party, said that he and members of his team were attacked while campaigning in the town of Kareli in central Georgia.

‘They attacked us; first they insulted us verbally, then it turned into a physical altercation’, Gegelia told Formula.

He said they were attacked after a woman, who he claimed was ‘probably’ the wife of a local official, approached them and told them they were speaking on her property and that they had no right to do so.

Another party leader, Lana Galdava, said two police officers were at the scene at the time of the incident but did not intervene.

On Monday, Strong Georgia, a political coalition including Lelo, called for an investigation to be opened for ‘politically motivated violence’.

The Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, commented during a press briefing that same day that he ‘categorically dissociates’ himself from any violence, and that ‘the election campaign should be conducted as calmly as possible’.

Parliamentary elections in Georgia are scheduled for 26 October.

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