The leader of the For Georgia opposition and former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, along with former official Elguja Khokrishvili, were met with hostility upon their return to Georgia from the Munich Security Conference earlier on Monday.
The party claimed the two were confronted at Tbilisi International Airport by what it described as a “pre-organized attack by Bidzina Ivanishvili” – the founder and honorary chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
The party alleged the police at the scene remained passive and did not intervene in the incident. The party accused the ruling establishment of descending into “hysteria” and becoming “uncontrollable,” attributing the confrontation to alleged fears stemming from the outcomes of the Munich Security Conference.
“The so-called government, which is in hysteria, is becoming uncontrollable. It is understandable that Ivanishvili is frightened by the results of the Munich Security Conference, and this hysteria is also caused by this. Our political force will do everything to make Ivanishvili lose the most precious thing to him – money and power, so that he can never again commit violence against the Georgian people”, the For Georgia said.
While the party confirmed that no physical violence took place, it reported verbal abuse aimed at Gakharia and Khokrishvili.
Beka Liluashvili, a member of For Georgia, speculated that the presence of a pro-Governmental POSTV camera at the scene suggested the media had been tipped off in advance about the incident.
Later, the channel released footage showing eggs being thrown at Gakharia and Khokrishvili while they were subjected to verbal harassment.
This confrontation follows another recent attack on Gakharia at the Sheraton hotel in Batumi, where he was physically assaulted. Georgian Dream MP Dimitri Samkharadze was allegedly involved in that incident.
