On May 28, Zviad Kharazishvili, the infamous Head of the Special Tasks Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a.k.a. “Khareba,” admitted to battering protesters during peaceful demonstrations against the Foreign Agents Law and said he had a special “list” of people to be targeted by riot police.
“I don’t beat young people, I beat scoundrels… We have a list, I’ll show it to you. Get out, don’t film,” Kharazishvili told a camera crew from TV Pirveli. He was trying to prevent the TV crew from filming him as he sat in a black car outside parliament, where demonstrators had gathered to protest the Foreign Agents Law as hearings were held on overriding the Presidential veto in the Parliament’s plenary session. Larger rally is scheduled to be held near the Parliament at 17:00 today.
Kharazishvili is documented to have been personally involved in directing the brutal crackdowns on the peaceful anti-Foreign Agents Law demonstrations. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Khareba is “notorious for his punitive expeditions against political opponents of the Georgian Dream party.”
