Zuka Berdzenishvili, an activist known for campaigning against the Kremlin-inspired foreign influence law, was violently attacked outside his home by unidentified individuals. The attack occurred shortly after Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili accused Berdzenishvili and others, including Shame Movement activists Salome Nikolaishvili, Levan Datunashvili, and Mariam Tsitsikashvili, of being part of a terror campaign against the Georgian Dream party. Papuashvili's post on social media was followed by the attack, with one of the attackers threatening to shoot Berdzenishvili. First Vice Speaker Gia Volski commented that violence begets violence, attributing the source of violence to Berdzenishvili's group. The incident has raised concerns about incitement to violence by political leaders.
First, the Speaker of the Parliament singles out an activist in a post. Within an hour he is beaten. Within subsequent hours GD MP says he deserved what he got. https://t.co/d8yOM3Gg9m
βViolence triggers violence and the source of violence is the group of people of which Zuka Berdzenishvili is part,β First Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Gia Volski said following Berdzenishvili being severely beaten by unidentified individuals outside his home. https://t.co/1syjeF4ALQ
From Speaker Papuashvili's morning post, one has now been beaten - Zuka Berdzenishvili. Watch out for Salome Nikolaishvili @Shamemovement, Levan Datunashvili @jamnewsge and Mariam Tsitsikashvili @FactcheckG. Papuashvili incited violence. Criminal Code Articles 239.1, 225 apply. https://t.co/sBHG05id38
Zuka Berdzenishvili, an activist and campaigner against the Kremlin-inspired and foreign influence law has been beaten outside his home by unidentified individuals. Two hours before the incident, Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili, accused Berdzenishvili and⦠https://t.co/8ORaWbT34w
Speaker of the Parliament Shalva Papuashvili singled out several, including Shame Movement activist Zuka Berdzenishvili, in what he calls a terror campaign against the GD. Less than an hour later, this is Zuka after a titushky attack. Papuashvili essentially ordered his beating. https://t.co/2LjETzggcq
"You will see, Iβm gonna shoot you in the head," one of the three attackers told Zuka Berdzenishvili while violently beating him. The violence occurred right after a Facebook post about him by Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of Parliament! Video @FormulaGe https://t.co/VQqpwZQXll
Georgian Dream thugs attacked activist Zuka Berdzenishvili. A few hours before the attack, the chairman of the parliament called the activist an extremist financed from Europe. #Georgia https://t.co/uGbtR9YEzK