The delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), currently visiting Georgia, on Thursday paid a visit to Giorgi Gakharia, the leader of the Gakharia for Georgia party and former prime minister, at his Tbilisi home. This meeting follows an attack on Gakharia in Batumi, which occurred at the Sheraton Hotel this week.
According to a statement released by the party, the discussion focused on the recent developments in Georgia and the country’s European future, amid ongoing protests against the Government’s decision last year to halt EU accession and claims of rigged parliamentary elections.
“The co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Claude Kern and Edite Estrela and Bas Klein, the Deputy Head of the Committee’s Secretariat, visited Giorgi Gakharia’s home. The main issue discussed was the situation in Georgia after the elections and how to secure the country’s European future,” the statement said.
As part of their visit to Georgia, the PACE delegation previously met with representatives from three opposition parties: the Coalition for Change, Unity-National Movement, and Strong Georgia.
In a separate development, Gakharia was attacked at the Sheraton Hotel in Batumi. Following the incident, Gakharia was taken to a clinic but was later discharged. His doctor reported that he sustained a fractured nasal bone and a concussion. Georgian Dream MP Dimitri Samkharadze was reportedly involved in the physical altercation with Gakharia. Additionally, a confrontation occurred at the same hotel involving Zviad Koridze, a representative from the non-governmental sector. Koridze claims that Samkharadze and his entourage confronted him as well.
