Georgian actor and singer Vano Tarkhnishvili has been attacked and beaten in Tbilisi. Both he and pro-government social media accounts linked the attack to a song he performed months prior, in which he insulted the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Tarkhnishvili posted a photo on Sunday evening showing significant swelling on his face. Later, he told TV Pirveli that he was walking near his home when an unknown person approached him, first introducing himself as a fan, and then attacking him.
‘He said, “I’m your fan, I really like you”. Then suddenly he told me, “How dare you swear at us” and hit me and beat me up’, he added, noting that his elderly parents were waiting for him at home nearby
Tarkhnishvili suggested the reason for the attack was the song Ole Ola, which he performed in January at a bar in Tbilisi. This song has gained prominence during the anti-government protests Georgia has been seeing since November 2024. The song contains insults directed at representatives of the ruling party.
‘I blame that [song]’, said the singer.
On the same evening, a video showing the attack appeared on pro-government Facebook accounts, purportedly filmed by a person accompanying the attacker. The footage showed the individual knocking the singer to the ground and striking him multiple times while swearing at him.
It is unclear where the video was first posted, but accounts that shared it hinted at a connection between the incident and Tarkhnishvili’s performance.
‘Vaniko Tarkhnishvili, the singer of “Ole Ola”, got what he deserved,’ wrote a Facebook page which frequently shares anti-opposition content alongside entertainment materials.
Later, Giorgi Churghulia, one of the admins of the anti-opposition Facebook group Anti-Maidan, hinted in a public Facebook post at the group’s possible involvement in Tarkhnishvili’s beating, stating that ‘as he heard,’ the attack was carried out by them.
Another pro-government personality, Bagrat Akujba Gruzinski, recorded a video in which he addressed Tarkhnishvili, saying ‘This is what will happen not only to you, but to [others] who think like you’.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs told OC Media that they were investigating the incident as an act of violence. As of publication, there is no information about any detentions being made in the case.
On Monday, Tarkhnishvili said that an investigator from the ministry had summoned him for questioning.
Amidst anti-government protests in Georgia, reports about physical attacks, threats, and verbal abuse targeting activists, demonstrators, and opposition politicians have become increasingly common.
The incidents have occurred both during the protests against the controversial foreign agents law last year and the more recent demonstrations sparked by Georgian Dream’s decision to freeze the country’s EU membership bid.
During one of the most recent incidents, in early May, three activists were attacked with pepper spray and colored dye by an unidentified man inside a residential building.
Government critics have repeatedly linked the attacks to the ruling party, which has not confirmed its involvement.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
