Opposition leader Vashadze says he was attacked with a screwdriver during yesterday’s protest

Giorgi Vashadze, one of the leaders of the opposition Unity – National Movement group, has reported that he was attacked during yesterday’s demonstration in Tbilisi.

According to Vashadze, the attacker was holding a screwdriver in his hand, which he used to cut the back of his jacket before lunging for his throat. According to him, the unknown person dropped the screwdriver before fleeing.

He published a video on Facebook yesterday showing a man screaming and swearing at him.

‘Here, this man, sent titushki [Ukrainian slang used to describe plainclothes security forces employed to attack government critics], armed with a [screwdriver], attacked me from behind’, Vashadze posted.

Around two hours after the incident, Vashadze posted on Facebook that the investigator called him and said he would not come to the scene of the incident. Instead, the investigator told Vashadze that he had to go to the department, and that investigative actions would be conducted remotely.

According to Vashadze, the attacker’s name is allegedly Davit Edisherashvili.

At a briefing on Wednesday, Vashadze stated that ‘first he hit me in the back with this screwdriver, then he hit me in the head and throat with this object’.

‘The act he committed against me is assessed by the Criminal Code as attempted murder, because he repeatedly tried to hit me with this screwdriver in order to cause serious harm’.