TI-Georgia Condemns ‘Lenient’ Penalty for Attack on Regional Manager
Transparency International/TI-Georgia condemned what it called an “inappropriately lenient” punishment for the man who attacked its regional office manager, Zviad Koridze, in Batumi in January, while noting that the other alleged perpetrators were not charged and thus went unpunished.
“This verdict is yet another example of how the regime protects its own violent supporters,” TI-Georgia, the country’s leading corruption watchdog, said on July 25, as it received the June 24 ruling by Batumi City Court Judge Viktor Metreveli, who found Gocha Samkharadze guilty of violence and fined him GEL 3,000 (about USD 1,100).
The others allegedly involved in the attack were Georgian Dream MP Dimitri Samkharadze and former Adjara Supreme Council GD faction chair Giorgi Manvelidze, who, according to TI-Georgia, were not charged at all and remain unpunished.
Zviad Koridze, a TI member, journalist, and civic activist, was verbally and physically assaulted on January 15 in the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel in Georgia’s coastal city of Batumi. He was hospitalized with an eye injury. Hours later, opposition For Georgia party leader Giorgi Gakharia, a former prime minister under the Georgian Dream, was also attacked by a group at the same venue and hospitalized with a broken nose and concussion.
TI-Georgia says the prosecutor “severely downplayed” and “distorted” the violence against Koridze by omitting key details from the case, including that he was sworn at and had a flower pot full of soil thrown at him.
“The prosecutor’s office deliberately concealed the full scope of the crime and the roles of other participants,” the watchdog said.
Koridze was in Batumi to observe a court hearing of journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli, director and founder of the Batumelebi and Netgazeti outlets.
“This case is symbolic because the Batumi incident involving Zviad Koride is closely connected to the trial of Mzia Amaghlobeli. While journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli faces a minimum 4-year prison sentence for slapping a police officer, only one participant in the group assault on Koridze has been punished, and with an inappropriately lenient sentence,” TI-Georgia said.
“This authoritarian regime not only intensifies pressure on those who oppose inequality and injustice but also shields those who uphold the regime through acts of violence,” the group added.
Concerns over lenient sentences for attackers of GD critics arise amid harsh treatment of protesters by courts and prosecutors. Several protesters have received multi-year jail sentences in protest-related cases, while courts have imposed administrative detention for offenses such as alleged verbal insults toward officials. On July 25, a Batumi court sent activist Levan Khorava to 20 days in detention for allegedly swearing at an Interior Ministry representative.
In a separate case on February 21, two men attacked protesters in Tbilisi. One, caught on camera holding a sharp object that looked like a machete, was fined GEL 500 (about USD 184), while the other received a verbal warning.
Also Read:
- 22/01/2025 – Opposition Member Says Sheraton Hotel Batumi May Be Involved in Cover-Up of Attack on Gakharia
- 08/12/2024 – Brutal Attack on Opposition Members and TV Pirveli Crew as Repression Intensifies