On September 8, on Melikishvili Avenue, near the "Georgian Dream" headquarters, a violent group of so-called "titushkas"[1] physically attacked activists, resulting in physical injuries to the protesters. The "titushkas" also physically assaulted journalists, obstructed their journalistic activities, verbally abused them, and even seized their equipment. In addition to the protest participants and media representatives, footage shows that law enforcement officers were also injured as a result of the violence.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on September 8, “an investigation has been launched under Part 1¹ of Article 126 of the Criminal Code, pertaining to group violence, in connection to the incident of confrontation between citizens on Melikishvili Avenue”[2].

According to media reports, the individuals involved in the violent actions have been identified. According to their information, among the attackers were a high-ranking official from the Tbilisi Police Department, an employee of the Tbilisi City Hall, and a member of Kakha Kaladze’s election campaign headquarters. The protesters indicated that the police officers present at the scene did not respond adequately to the violent incidents.

Under the European Convention on Human Rights, the state is obliged to protect individuals from ill-treatment and ensure their physical safety and liberty. In this regard, the state bears both negative and positive obligations. When state officials coordinate and financially support the violent actions of the "titushkas", it constitutes a violation of the state's negative obligation. When the violent actions of the "titushkas" occur with the knowledge and tolerance of state representatives, it constitutes a violation of the state's positive obligation. In both cases, the state violates the substantial/material part of the human right. Therefore, both cases constitute a serious human rights violation, with the first being particularly severe.

In Georgia, based on the information available to us, at a minimum, there is evidence of the second aforementioned type of human rights violation — when law enforcement officers are aware of instances of ill-treatment of citizens by "titushkas", but they fail to respond to these incidents, prevent the violence, and protect the victims. The large-scale, pre-coordinated and well-planned nature of the "titushkas'" violent actions provides a strong basis for the reasonable presumption that the aforementioned first, even more severe human rights violation may have occurred also — that the violent actions of the "titushkas" may have been organized with the direct involvement of state officials.

This assumption is further substantiated by the systemic impunity of the perpetrators and the behavior of the police officers at the scene, who show clear bias in favor of the violent group, as well as the statements of members of the "Georgian Dream" who praise and encourage retaliation against activists.

The perpetrators' ties to the "Georgian Dream" team, along with the police inaction regarding their actions, as well as the comments made by representatives of the "Georgian Dream," clearly indicate that the attack on the protesters was, at the very least, encouraged by the ruling party. On September 8, "Georgian Dream" MP Dimitri Samkharadze, in a post shared on social media, crudely praised the violent incidents and referred to the events as a "relevant response". The next day, instead of condemning the violence, Kakha Kaladze insultingly referred to the female protesters who were victims of the violence. As he stated to journalists, "They are not women, they are some sort of incomprehensible species". On September 9, Nino Tsilosani also responded to the cases of physical retaliation, stating that the injured citizens themselves provoked the violence.

It should be noted that, unlike some previous cases of violence committed by the "titushkas" in the past months, on September 8, 2025, the protesters were attacked by individuals without masks. Publicly circulated video footage makes it possible to easily identify them, yet, according to available information, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has not yet identified the perpetrators of the violence near Kaladze's headquarters.

Thus, despite the formal initiation of an investigation, there is practically no expectation of its effectiveness and the prosecution of the perpetrators, considering that previous instances of brutal violence committed by the "titushkas" remain uninvestigated. In some cases, the investigation has been ongoing for over a year without any results.

The active use of private violent groups against peaceful citizens does not represent a new practice of organized violence by the "Georgian Dream". The violent actions of the "titushkas" have been witnessed by the public multiple times, both during the spring of 2024 and the protest rallies in November-December.

During the demonstrations against the "Russian law" in the spring of 2024, the so-called "titushkas" attacked numerous activists and politicians. A group of perpetrators wearing black masks would meet citizens near their homes, as well as brutally assault protesters near the protest area. Tbilisi State University student, Niko Managadze, became victim of the “titushkas” attacks multiple times. A year and a half after the first instance of physical assault against him (April 20, 2024), no significant investigative actions have been conducted - no reasonable steps have been taken to identify the perpetrators and take appropriate legal measures against them. In this case, as well as in dozens of others, the investigation is formal and ineffective, which practically confirms the management and use of these groups by the "Georgian Dream," with the aim of intimidating and punishing the protesters.

The violence against citizens and journalists by private violent groups took on a more widespread and brutal nature during the large-scale protest rallies in November-December. Particularly alarming were the physical assaults on Mindia Gabadze, a journalist for the online publication Publika, on December 6, 2024, and on Maka Chikhladze, a journalist for TV Pirveli, and Giorgi Shetsiruli, a cameraman, on December 7, 2024. In both cases, a patrol police crew was located several meters from the scene of the attack, but they did not respond to the brutal violence.

Alongside the large-scale violence against peaceful protesters, the use of private violent groups makes the practice of violence particularly dangerous and virtually uncontrollable. The government's sanctioning of criminal gangs to commit violence against citizens is nothing less than declaring war on its own people. This practice will have the grave consequences for society and for the future.

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