Attack on Irakli Okruashvili preceded by his intervention in lawsuit over "Rustavi-2" TV Channel

Irakli Okruashvili, a candidate to the Parliament, claims that the attack on him was controlled by a brother of the wife of Kakha Kaladze, another candidate to the Parliament, a member of the "Georgian Dream" Party. The conflict between the candidates arose in September and prompted Irakli Okruashvili to make public the documents, which led to re-consideration of the lawsuit on transfer of the "Rustavi-2" TV Channel.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 2, Irakli Okruashvili, the former Minister of Defence, was shelled at his meeting with voters in Gori. His bodyguard and an activist of his electoral headquarter were wounded. The politician claimed that the attack on him involved members of the ruling coalition.

According to Georgy Aptsiauri, a reporter of the "Tavisupleba" radio station, people are not willing to talk about the incident, since they fear of one of the participants of the shootout, who is considered as a criminal authority in Gori.

Political analyst Gela Vasadze believes that the attack on Irakli Okruashvili has been caused by the dispute over the "Rustavi-2" TV Channel, and not by his competition with members of the "Georgian Dream" Party in the Gori District, in which the former Minister of Defence is running for a seat in the Parliament.

Manana Kobakhidze, Vice-Speaker of the Parliament from the "Georgian Dream" Party, has stated that Irakli Okruashvili is trying to discredit the ruling party.

NGO "Georgian Young Lawyers Association" has called on to identify not only an attacker, but also a person, who ordered the attack.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.