One arrested for assault of opposition politician in Batumi
The Special Investigation Service of Georgia on Tuesday said the offender had been arrested in the “shortest terms possible”. Photo: Special Investigation Service
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The Special Investigation Service of Georgia on Tuesday said it had arrested one individual for an assault on a member of the United National Movement opposition party in the country’s western city of Batumi a day earlier.
The agency said the 34-year-old offender had been identified and detained “in the shortest terms possible” and was facing up to three years in prison for violence on political grounds if found guilty.
Giorgi Kirtadze, the head of the United National Movement representation in Batumi, had eggs thrown at him in the incident that also saw the individual assault the politician and call him a “traitor” during the politician’s televised interview in the city.
Kirtadze was running for Batumi Mayor last year and currently represents UNM - the largest opposition group in the country - in the legislative body of the western Adjara autonomous region.
He said he had been making comments about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict when the assault took place.
Georgia’s Special Investigation Service on Monday confirmed an investigation had been launched following an assault on an opposition politician on live television earlier during the day.
Georgia’s Special Investigation Service on Wednesday said the country’s Prosecutor General’s Office had filed charges against a Russian citizen who injured a local reporter by intentionally driving a car into them in an incident last month.