‘We can be on the path to the EU or to Belarus’: Political thug culture grips Georgia

TBILISI — Gia Japaridze, a 50-year-old lecturer and former diplomat, was ambushed near his home in Tbilisi on the evening of May 8 by several people wielding sticks and what he believed was a baseball bat.

“I was born in the Soviet Union. I wasn’t afraid of the Communists. They can’t scare me either. I don’t have any doubts — I know that the government was behind this,” said Japaridze, who needed stitches, suffered a concussion and received deep livid bruises across his back.

His assailants made clear they were targeting him because of his public opposition to a Russian-style law on “foreign agents” that Georgia’s parliament approved on Tuesday.

Critics of the new law fear the government will use it to crack down on media, the opposition and civil society in this Caucasian country of 3.7 million people. Tens of thousands of protesters have packed the streets, incensed that their government seems determined to scupper the country’s prospects of joining the EU.

Brussels had feared the new law would precede a brutal crackdown on dissent — but violence and intimidation against the opposition is already spiking, even before the law takes effect.

Speaking to POLITICO at a protest on Tuesday, Japaridze’s brother, opposition politician Zurab Japaridze, said he would not yield to violence because the country’s democratic future was at stake.

“We can either be on the path to Europe or on the path to Belarus,” he said.

Zurab Japaridze also said a group of men had attempted to attack him on three occasions since the foreign agent law began to draw resistance. During one attempt he fired a gun in the air to deter his assailants.

In somebody’s crosshairs

Nino Zuriashvili also ran afoul of the growing political menace.

The founder of investigative outlet Studio Monitor, one of the outlets that faces being branded as a foreign agent, Zuriashvili received a call last week from an unknown number. The voice on the other end of the line insulted her because of her opposition to the bill. Dozens of other protesters and prominent activists say they have faced similar threats.

A few days later, when Zuriashvili arrived at her office, she was greeted by dozens of flyers bearing her face plastered across the walls outside, accusing her of being “an agent sold for money” and calling the investigative outlet an “anti-Georgian agency.”

“This was a very unpleasant feeling. It meant that I was in somebody’s crosshairs,” she told POLITICO.

Nino Zuriashvili arrived at her office, she was greeted by dozens of flyers bearing her face plastered across the walls outside, accusing her of being “an agent sold for money.” | Studio Monitori

She found similar posters near her house. Her car was also vandalized, spray-painted with penises and graffiti calling her an “agent sold for money.”

“It just made me realize that I was right all along,” she said. “The government is creating groups to oppress us. We are waking up in Russia. We will fight this war to the end. Georgia will not become Russia.”

Dimitri Chikovani, a member of the United National Movement opposition party, was attacked by a group of unidentified men near his house on May 8 — the same night as the attack on Gia Japaridze. CCTV footage shows five men beating him relentlessly as he exits his car. He ended up in a hospital with multiple injuries to his face and body.

Chikovani blamed the ruling Georgian Dream and the enigmatic oligarch who founded the party and now serves as its honorary chairman, Bidzina Ivanishvili.

“The attackers and the interior ministry serve the same lord” he said, adding that despite the launch of a formal investigation, he was sure police won’t take his case seriously.

Georgian Dream database

The governing Georgian Dream party shows no sign of trying to dial down tensions.

Playing to conservative supporters, and brushing off criticism from the EU and U.S., the party says the new law is needed to stop foreign influence from undermining traditional values.

“If we bow to these Soviet-style foreign directives, in the future they’ll just as successfully demand us to reject laws on family values and protection of minors, to adopt same sex marriage, to legalize drugs,” Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on Monday.  

As for the beatings, Justice Minister Rati Bregadze claimed the pro-EU protesters themselves were to blame for carrying out assaults against their own supporters. “If anybody benefits from such a mess, these are the people behind these protesters,” he said.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has threatened to crack down on the demonstrators — announcing plans to create a database of those he says are “involved in violence, illegal activities, intimidation and blackmail or approve of such behavior.”

The database would be published online to name and shame those accused of transgressions. Critics see it as yet another move to discredit the government’s opponents.

Georgian Dream did not responded to repeated requests for comment.

Thousands of demonstrators marching against the bill on “Foreign Agents” in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on May 11. | Daro Sulakauri/Getty Images

On Tuesday, as the Georgian parliament voted 84-30 in favor of the bill, thousands gathered outside the legislature in central Tbilisi to drown out proceedings with a chorus of whistles, vuvuzelas and banging pots and pans. Riot police dispersed the crowds with water cannon and a sonic weapon. Authorities arrested dozens, deploying teargas against peaceful protesters, and have been accused of beating detainees.

At the edge of the rally, several men in black, wearing masks, accosted journalists and bystanders, taking pictures of those present in an apparent bid to intimidate them. Asked by POLITICO to identify themselves and explain their side of the debate, they remained silent and continued to photograph attendees.

Georgian Dream has been warned by its U.S. and EU partners that adoption of the bill will harm Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary Jim O’Brien warned of potential sanctions after Tuesday’s vote.

“‘If the law goes forward, out of conformity with EU norms, and there’s undermining of democracy here, and there’s violence against peaceful protesters, then we’ll see restrictions coming from the U.S. These tend to be financial and travel restrictions on the individuals responsible for these actions and their families.”