Police to Probe September 8 Attacks as Campaign Violence After Georgian Dream Request

Georgia’s Interior Ministry opened an additional investigation into the September 8 attacks outside Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze’s campaign office on Melikishvili Avenue after an appeal from Georgian Dream, expanding the probe to violence or threats of violence during the election campaign, as ruling party members accused demonstrators of provocation.

Several people, including journalists, were injured in yesterday’s brawls outside Kaladze’s campaign office in central Tbilisi, where anti-GD protesters were attacked by what appeared to be government-mobilized groups and supporters amid heavy police presence. Attackers used iron batons, bottles, and barriers against protesters, repeatedly punching and verbally abusing them. Two people were reportedly hospitalized, but no attackers were arrested despite many being identified. The MIA that night opened a probe into group violence before expanding it today.

“The Ministry of Internal Affairs calls on all citizens to abstain during the pre-election campaign from violence, provoking violence or any acts that harm the electoral environment or obstruct campaigning by electoral subjects, which are punishable by law,” the MIA said in a September 9 statement.

Article 162¹ of Georgia’s Criminal Code relates to “violence or threat of violence at a polling station, an election commission premises or adjacent territory, or during canvassing or an election campaign.” The September 9 rally passed by the Georgian Dream campaign office in the evening, when no special campaign event was reportedly taking place.

MIA claimed yesterday that police “took all relevant measures to cool down the tensions,” but some protesters accused officers of arriving early and failing to act. Later footage showed one of the attackers telling a police officer, “I am on your side,” as the officer took away his rubber baton, but did not arrest him. The man was captured in another video repeatedly hitting a citizen with the baton.

Georgian Dream accuses demonstrators of provocation

Georgian Dream members blamed the protesters while downplaying the assault. Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, speaking to journalists, accused demonstrators of a “targeted provocation” aimed at “artificially stirring up tensions.” When pressed about the assault on women, Kaladze dismissed the question, “Where do you see women?.. They are some other species, there is no woman there.”

MP Nino Tsilosani also blamed the demonstrators, including women, saying they “cursed our supporters most aggressively and behaved most inappropriately,” and called them “fascists.”

Kaladze’s campaign manager, Levan Machavariani, claimed protesters are “funded precisely by the European Union’s money,” “wealthy NGOs,” and the opposition United National Movement. He justified the violence as a reaction to insults, “When they touch your dignity and do this deliberately and you’re met with shouts of some terrible words, it’s very difficult to restrain the people.” He urged diplomats “to act responsibly and make at least some comment.”

GD parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili wrote: “Today, already for the third time, titushki supported by the German Ambassador, chanting fascist slogans, have attacked the Tbilisi election HQ of the Georgian Dream. Supporting extremists during the election campaign from the foreign ambassador is an example of election interference and a blatant violation of the Vienna Convention [on Diplomatic Relations].”

Public Defender’s Reaction

Public Defender Levan Ioseliani also weighed in, saying the confrontation occurred “between participants of an anti-government protest” and “persons mobilized at the scene,” calling on protesters to “refrain from actions” that could “interfere” with the Georgian Dream election headquarter’s work.

The statement highlighted concerns over obstruction of journalists and what it described as derogatory, demeaning, and stereotypical comments toward women, calling on both government and political party representatives to refrain from such statements.

“The Public Defender, within the framework of its mandate, will oversee the investigation. We call on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor’s Office to ensure all guilty parties are brought to justice within tight deadlines,” the office’s statement said.

Opposition and CSOs

Opposition leader Helen Khoshtaria of the Droa party called the attacks on activists “repulsive, outrageous, and terrible,” blaming “organized violence by the so-called government thugs, with the participation of disguised police officers, criminals, and members of the Russian ‘Dream’ party.”

Another opposition, the Freedom Square party, demanded a meeting with Patrol Police Director Levan Maisuradze, accusing police of serving GD interests instead of protecting citizens. “The police are funded by all of our taxes and are obligated to protect the rights and safety of all citizens of Georgia,” the party wrote.

“The events of September 8 are confirmation that ‘Georgian Dream’ continues to grossly violate human rights against peaceful protest,” Georgia’s prominent human rights watchdog, GYLA, wrote, adding that the Georgian Dream uses “criminal methods and physical violence” to suppress peaceful protests.

Note: This article was updated on September 10 at 11:50 to clarify the criminal offense on which the investigation is based.

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