TBILISI, September 15 – Tensions in Georgia’s capital flared this weekend after police detained a prominent opposition leader over an act of vandalism targeting the ruling party’s mayoral campaign.
Elene Khoshtaria, one of the leaders of the opposition Coalition for Change, was taken into custody outside her home, according to local media. Authorities said her arrest was linked to the defacement of an election banner for Tbilisi’s mayor, Kakha Kaladze, who is running again as a candidate for the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Georgia’s Interior Ministry confirmed that an investigation had been launched under Article 187 of the country’s criminal code, which covers property damage or destruction.
Khoshtaria herself had already admitted to spray-painting one of Kaladze’s campaign posters on September 14 with the words “Russian Dream.” She posted a video of the act on social media, saying it was an expression of solidarity with opposition activist Megi Diasamidze, who had been arrested a few days earlier for damaging another Kaladze banner.
Reacting to Khoshtaria’s detention, Kaladze told reporters that violations of the law would not go unanswered. “One thing is clear, these people are of no interest to anyone,” he said. “They have been removed from the agenda. Nobody is interested in their everyday actions, which they carry out daily together with those violent individuals. Accordingly, they want to remind the country’s population of themselves through crimes. There is specific footage of violations, everyone will face the appropriate response.”
