Police investigating alleged assault on ex-Interior Minister
The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs on Thursday confirmed with IPN it was investigating alleged assault on Vano Merabishvili. Photo: Ministry of Internal Affairs press office
Tweet 
Share
The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs on Thursday confirmed it had launched an investigation following reports of assault on Vano Merabishvili, one of the most influential figures of the previous United National Movement Government who served as the country’s Interior Minister for almost eight years.
The confirmation followed reports by Rustavi 2 TV channel on the former official being attacked in a pharmacy in Tbilisi’s central Vake district on Monday.
Local media reported the alleged offender Gigisha Sharashidze - the son-in-law of former opposition politician and TV host Gia Gachechiladze - had confirmed the incident and said he was ready to cooperate with law enforcement.
However, Sharashidze refused to identify the reasons behind the incident and said he hoped Merabishvili would “find courage” to provide the details.
Merabishvili, who served as the country’s Interior Minister between 2004-2012 and Prime Minister for a few months in 2012, before the defeat of UNM in that year’s Parliamentary elections, was arrested in 2013 and imprisoned on charges of abuse of power, vote buying, covering up of evidence and mishandling of budget funds.
He claimed all charges against him were “politically motivated”, and left prison in February 2020 after serving almost seven years.
Political parties and politicians have given different evaluations to the release of former influential figure Vano Merabishvili from his seven-year imprisonment, as well as his promise given at Matrosovi prison earlier today that the current state government ‘will be overthrown’ by the end of the year. Merabishvili, who served as interior and prime minister under the United National Movement government, has not yet decided which opposition party to join.
Former Interior and Prime Minister of Georgia, one of the most influential figures of the United National Movement (UNM) government, Vano Merabishvili left prison earlier today after serving almost seven years, stating that he is returning to politics and ‘guarantees’ the end of the current Georgian Dream leadership. Standing at Matrosovi prison Merabishvili told the media that the opposition is united around key demands. However, his close friends are now in different opposition parties.
One of the leaders of the United National Movement opposition (UNM) Nika Melia says that one of the former most influential figures of the party, former Interior and Prime Minister of Georgia, Vano Merabishvili, will not be on the UNM’s party list for the October 31 parliamentary elections, stating that Merabishvili has no ‘moral right’ to be in politics.
The Georgian Ministry of Corrections has published the conclusions of a German lab regarding the health condition of imprisoned former Interior Minister Ivane (Vano) Merabishvili, amid speculations of Marabishvili’s lawyers that the former official has been poisoned in prison.
The Georgian foreign office on Friday said Belgian police had not confirmed the killing of a Georgian transgender woman in the country, following media reports of the alleged crime.
The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs on Saturday confirmed it had launched an investigation following reports of an assault on Giorgi Kandelaki, a member of the European Georgia - Movement for Liberty party.
Three individuals have been arrested for assaulting law enforcement officers in southeastern Georgia’s Marneuli region, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.
Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said violence was “unacceptable” in response to an assault on Misha Mshvildadze, one of the founders of the domestic Formula TV channel, in Tbilisi on Tuesday.