“Titushky” attacked journalists during protests in Georgia

During protests on September 8, 2025, in Tbilisi, the youth wing of the ruling party Georgian Dream — so-called “titushky” — clashed with peaceful demonstrators. This was reported by Georgian journalist Keti Shoshiashvili on her page on X.

The clashes took place near the campaign office of Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze. A group of young men attacked protesters, threw bottles, seized journalists’ phones, and physically assaulted both demonstrators and reporters.

According to eyewitnesses, many police officers were present at the scene, but in some cases they obstructed journalists’ work instead of stopping the violence. Moreover, police did not detain a single attacker near Kaladze’s headquarters, even though most of the attackers did not conceal their faces.

A titushka approaches protesters, a group beating begins, while police stand nearby. pic.twitter.com/NwvohsKfAJ

— Katie Shoshiashvili (@KShoshiashvili) September 8, 2025

The attackers took away the phones of two Publika journalists — Aleksandre Keshelashvili and Keto Mikadze. Hungarian activist and journalist László Róbert Mézes was also assaulted by the “titushky.” Several other people were injured as well, some of whom required emergency medical assistance.

OC Media director Mariam Nikuradze was doused with water in the presence of several police officers. In addition, the police themselves obstructed journalists’ work and insulted Netgazeti reporter Keti Kutsishvili.

The next step will probably just be shooting us in the streets,

– said a publisher and protest participant in a comment to Chytomo.

At present, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Sakartvelo has launched an investigation under Article 126 of the Criminal Code, which covers violence committed by a group of persons. The crime is punishable by four to six years of imprisonment. Police in Sakartvelo claim that “officers present at the scene took appropriate measures to defuse the situation and prevent further escalation of the conflict.”

The ruling party declared that they view the incident as an “attack on the headquarters of Georgian Dream.”

“‘Titushky,’ supported by the German ambassador, today once again attacked the Georgian Dream headquarters in Tbilisi with fascist slogans. During the election campaign, support for extremists and the refusal of a foreign ambassador to condemn violence is a blatant case of election interference in violation of the Vienna Convention,” said Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili.

The protests in Tbilisi are taking place ahead of the upcoming local elections scheduled for October 4, 2025. Most opposition parties are boycotting the vote, claiming that the government intends to falsify the results. In Tbilisi, Kakha Kaladze, secretary-general of the ruling pro-Russian party Georgian Dream, is running for a third term as mayor.

As reported earlier, the websites of 22 independent Georgian media outlets went offline for an hour to call on citizens to support independent journalism.

Copy editing: Joy Tataryn