Police Says Two Beaten Up by Pro-Opposition Activists

The Interior Ministry said it has launched investigation into the case involving attack on two citizens by pro-opposition activists last night.

The Interior Ministry posted on its website a video footage showing a verbal quarrel, which then grows into a brawl that took place after midnight close to the building, which is housing the office of the Interior Ministry’s general inspection, an internal investigations unit. Opposition activists are blocking the street there with mocked-up prison cells as part of the ongoing protests.

The video shows a man, Bidzina Gegidze, a close associate of Levan Gachechiladze, an opposition politician, hitting his fist into the face of a man after the latter swears at him. The Interior Ministry said that the man and his companion, who were beaten up, were residents of that neighborhood. The two men were also accompanied by a woman.

The vide footage also shows a man, Gia Korkotashvili, searching a wallet belonging to one of the citizens who was beaten up. Then he takes something from the wallet and puts it into his pocket.

Both Korkotashvili and Gegidze are co-founders of a recently set up organization – Together – which, according to its founders aimed at patrolling and monitoring of the protest venues to prevent attacks on opposition activists and supporters.

“As a result of the attack two citizens have received severe bodily injuries. Attackers have seized the citizens’ wallets, stole cash and identification documents,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement. It added: “The investigation was initiated in accordance with articles 118, 117 and 239 envisaged by the Criminal Code of Georgia,” involving inflicting bodily injuries; robbery and hooliganism, respectively.

The video footage was not recorded by the police CCTV camera. The Interior Ministry said that an employee of the Interior Ministry was shooting the video from the building housing the general inspection’s office.

Gia Korkotashvili, a co-founder of the organization, Together, who is also a radio and TV host, said on April 26 that the incident was “a provocation” with two persons approaching the protest venue and starting quarrelling. He has strongly denied taking money from the wallet and has claimed that he only took identification cards with a purpose “to find out with which special services he was cooperating.” He also said that he was ready to cooperate with the investigation.

Meanwhile, the Georgian public broadcaster, where Korkotashvili hosts an entertaining show, said it was suspending Korkotashvili from the program pending the results of the investigation.

The video footage also shows Giga Bukia of the opposition Conservative Party on the scene.

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