Hooliganism in Tianeti

Natia Danelishvili
Information Center of Mtskheta-Mtianeti

Badur Poladishvili, who is supposedly activist of the National Movement, cursed supporters of the Coalition Georgian Dream and journalists of the news agency INFO 9 in Duluzaurebi village in Tianeti district.

Majoritarian candidate of the Georgian Dream was about to meet voters in one of the districts but Badur Poladishvili was driving car so fast that people were afraid he could crash somebody.

Badur Poladishvili arrived in Duluzaurebi village together with two persons; he got irritated when INFO 9’s camera started recording him.

“Why are you recording me? Do you want me to take off now and video-record me then? You bitch,” Poladishvili told INFO 9’s journalists.

A local resident asked him to refrain from insulting people because women and children were in the area. “What then if women and children are here?! Listen to me – do you want me to shave you?! Come here, you bitch, go to the hell, get off here,” Poladishvili was shouting; he demanded one the local resident to sit in his car.

“Man, get in my car! Fuck your… get into the car. Put him in the car,” Poladashvili was shouting.

Georgian Dream’s majoritarian candidate Zakaria Kutsnashvili calmed down situation. He asked Duluzaurebi residents to suggest him a person whom they trusted to be a village governor if the self-government institution is restored. Poladishvili was watching the meeting from his car and continued insulting people who were attending the meeting.

Rusudan Sisauri, manager of the Georgian Dream’s Tianeti office, told ICMM that Badur Poladishvili was acting according to the instructions of the National Movement’s Tianeti office.

“They use him for similar provocations. He lives in Tbilisi and arrived here three days ago. Maybe, he knew about our meetings and was waiting for us in the village. He got irritated because cameras were recording him and he started cursing. A local resident asked him to stop cursing because his wife and children were at the meeting and Poladishvili started quarreling him because that. I personally asked the villager not to get provoked by Poladishvili’s behavior and we sent him home. The harasser noticed him go home and went to meet him near the house. The wife of the villager felt bad because of the incident. They wanted to fail Kutsnashvili’s meeting with local people; maybe it was their instruction. Those people followed us in the villages of Tushurebi and Zaridzes, he signaled and tried to provoke people,” Rusudan Sisauri told ICMM.

ICMM called Giorgi Abashvili – majoritarian candidate of the United National Movement in Tianeti district and former Tianeti district governor to comment on the incident.

“I do not know that person; he is not our activist. I do not care what the Georgian Dream states,” Abashvili said.

Hooliganism is a crime punished under Article 239 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. Hooliganism is the action which grossly violates public order or demonstrates open contempt toward the public, committed under violence or threat of violence. The crime is punished by imprisonment up to one year.

Although video of the incident was published, Tianeti district police has not launched criminal case on the incident yet.

ICMM apologizes to readers for the foal language quoted in the article. It was necessary to prove the hooliganism fact.

Original text and video