In Georgia, former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia was attacked.

The editor of the publication "Mtis Ambebi" ("Mountain News"), Gela Mtivlishvili, who witnessed the incident, claims to have identified the assailants and names them: according to him, they are parliament member Dmitry Samkharadze, Deputy Minister of Economy of Adjara Georgy Manvelidze, and several other politicians.

The pro-government television company "Imedi" released a video of the brawl, asserting that the conflict was provoked by Georgy Gakharia himself – during a verbal confrontation, he allegedly threw a plastic cup at "Georgian Dream" representative Dmitry Samkharadze, after which "Samkharadze responded and a physical confrontation ensued."

At the same time, journalist and head of the regional offices of "Transparency International – Georgia," Zviad Koridze, reported that the same group of people attacked him even before the incident with Georgy Gakharia. He arrived in Batumi to cover the trial of the founder of the media outlets "Batumelebi" and "Netgazeti," Mzia Amaglobeli. The journalist was at the "Sheraton" hotel when Dmitry Samkharadze approached him, claimed he recognized him, and began to curse. At that moment, about 10 people approached them, Koridze asserts. He sought help from a local guard and at one point was struck in the head, the journalist says. After this, he was escorted to his room. He sustained minor injuries, Koridze informed reporters.

The party "For Georgia," founded and led by Gakharia, considers the attack to be politically motivated. In its statement, it is described as a "coordinated group attack organized by the Ivanishvili regime." One of the party leaders, Natiya Mezvrishvili, directly accused Bidzina Ivanishvili of the attack and reminded about previous warnings from Ivanishvili regarding retribution against Gakharia.

• Georgy Gakharia served as the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia from 2017 to 2019, and from 2019 to 2021, he was the Prime Minister of the country. In 2021, he left the government and founded the opposition party "For Georgia."

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