Political Opponents Assault Each Other in the Villages of Gori District

According to the representatives of the United Opposition Shida Kartli headquarter the government has already started arresting and intimidating their members. For example, Givi Makharashvili, inhabitant of the village of Mereti was detained at night of January 12th. The next morning he and his supporters were planning to join the opposition demonstration in Tbilisi. Makharashvili's family states that the motive for his detention was unknown from the beginning. "He was warned unless he stopped his activities, he would be arrested. So they kept their promise", said the members of his family.

Levan Terashvili, one of the regional HQ leaders the states that Givi Makharashvili is an opposition activist and the Police arrested him for that reason. But the law enforcers claim the opposite. The spokesperson of the Gori Police Department stated in his conversation with the Human Rights Center that Givi Makharashvili was arrested for having assaulted Vasiko Tevdorashvili, governor of village Mereti.

"Givi Makharashvili started argument with me. He was discontent with the fact that his party received rather few votes in the village of Mereti. He asked me why I falsified the election results. I explained to him that I could not have falsified results not being a commission members neither I had any connection with the PEC. He was aggressive. We started struggling", says Vasiko Tevdorashvili. Givi Makharashvili has been released on bail.

Givi Makharashvili was once a body guard of Irakli Okruashvili. He was considered to be an active member of Okruashvili's party from the very beginning.

Levan Gachechiladze received 184 votes from the village of Mereti and Mikheil Saakashili got 619 votes.

Saba Tsitsikashvili, Gori