Georgia’s opposition leader has been beaten and blamed by members of the ruling party

Georgia’s former prime minister and opposition party leader Giorgia Gakharia has been hospitalized after being attacked in a hotel, members of the ruling Georgian Dream party said.

Gakharia reportedly broke his nose during the incident in Batumi on the Black Sea coast. His party said it was “politically motivated” and aimed at intimidating the opposition.

The South Caucasus state has experienced political turmoil and repeated attacks on opposition figures and protesters in the months since Georgia’s election in late October.

Nightly protests have taken place since Georgian Dream leaders announced a month later that they were freezing the issue of opening talks to join the European Union.

Hundreds of businesses took part in the three-hour strike on Wednesday, the 49th day of protests.

Video of what happened in the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel in Batumi on Tuesday night was unclear, although Gakharia could be seen being forced to the ground by a group of men. Footage later showed the shirt with blood on it.

Giorgia Gakharia posted on social media on Wednesday morning that “I am in good health”, but the doctor who treated her said that she had broken a bone in her nose and suffered a concussion.

European Commission spokeswoman Anitta Hipper said the “participation of Georgian Dream politicians in the brutal attack” is shocking, and there was no place for violence or impunity in any democracy.

However, Georgian Dream figures have accused Gakharia of starting the feud itself. Lawmaker Levan Machavariani told reporters that everything was clear from the footage, while Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze said the opposition’s agenda was based on lies and fraud.

A Georgian Dream lawmaker and other party members have been linked to the attack, shortly after journalist Zviad Koridze and the regional head of the anti-corruption organization Transparency International were also attacked.

Koridze was visiting Batumi to report on the trial of a major media outlet, Mzia Amaghlobeli, founder of independent online outlets Netgazeti and Batumelebi.

A preventive arrest warrant was issued in the Black Sea coastal city on Tuesday, two days after he was arrested in a heated argument with a police officer, who is accused of slapping him. A cameraman was also arrested.

The UK’s ambassador to Georgia, Gareth Ward, said that the evolution of the political crisis in recent days has been “very worrying”. “The renewal of violence against opposition politicians and the arbitrary arrest of journalists and demonstrators is unacceptable,” he said.

Gakharia is not the first opposition leader to face violence in recent weeks. Nika Gvaramia, who heads the Coalition for Change, fell unconscious when she was arrested in the capital, Tbilisi, last month.

Dozens of Georgian journalists and protesters have also been attacked and injured by pro-government thugs during overnight protests.

Georgian Dream has been accused by the EU and the US of democratic backsliding, and opposition groups accuse the party and billionaire founder Bidzina Ivanishvili of favoring Russian interests, while most Georgians want to join the EU.

Giorgi Gakharia was a leading member of Georgian Dream as interior minister until 2021 and then as prime minister before founding his own opposition party For Georgia.

In a statement, the Ombudsman of Georgia, Levan Ioseliani, condemned the attacks against Gakharia and Zviad Koridze. He has called for an immediate response, so that “attacks against politicians and journalists are not promoted”.

Gakharia’s party was one of four opposition groups that won seats in the October election, but all refused to take their seats, accusing the ruling party of vote-rigging.

The European Parliament has called for the elections to be held again, calling them neither free nor fair, and the head of the EU’s foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, has accused the government of using repression against the opposition.