Opposition journalist says he was attacked by masked man

Giorgi Mosiashvili, a photographer for Girchi TV, a tv station affiliated with the opposition party Girchi — New Political Centre, posted on Facebook that he was attacked on the street by a masked man.

Mosiashvili, who is known as Mose, said the attacker approached him on the street and asked, ‘Aren’t you Mose?’. When he answered yes, Mosiashvili said the man tried to punch him.

Before the masked man tried to strike him, Mosiashvili said the assailant told him, ‘now take photos of the crowd’ at anti-government rallies. Pro-government media and Georgian Dream officials have repeatedly attempted to downplay crowd sizes at protests, which was likely what the attacker was referring to.

‘I dodged it, hit him once, and he ran away’, Mosiashvili said.

Speaking to Publika, Mosiashvili said that he isn’t going to file a complaint to investigative agencies, because ‘there is no point in conducting any investigative actions in this country in such a situation’.

Mosiashvili said the incident took place under the Marjanishvili Bridge.