Opposition Coalition Alleges Intimidation

The nine-party opposition coalition backing lawmaker Levan Gachechiladze for the presidency claimed on December 1 that its activists were being attacked and intimidated.

Tina Khidasheli of the Republican Party told Civil.Ge that the coalition?s office in the town of Tskaltubo in the western region of Imereti had been raided. In a separate incident, she claimed, the head of the coalition?s campaign office in Gardabani had been ?kidnapped and then beaten up? by unknown men. He was then released, Khidasheli said.

Shota Khizanishvili, an Interior Ministry spokesperson, said he was unaware of the cases. ?I do not know anything about it. They [opposition activists] should inform us if something has happened,? Khizanishvili told Civil.Ge.

Earlier on Saturday, leaders from the coalition, including presidential hopeful Levan Gachechiladze, held an outdoor campaign meeting with supporters in Rustavi, a town close to Tbilisi.

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