The Prosecutor’s Office has charged animal rights defender Tamaz Elizbarashvili with making threats, alleging that he threatened a group of people during the confrontation at a Tbilisi restaurant on August 30 and returned to the scene armed shortly afterward.
Elizbarashvili, a prominent government-critical figure who runs a dog shelter, remains in custody following his detention on administrative charges of police disobedience during his home search on September 1. The court is yet to decide on his pre-trial measure.
Elizbarashvili had been charged under Article 151(1) of the Criminal Code, which concerns threats, the Prosecutor’s Office said in a September 3 statement. The provision criminalizes “threatening with causing bodily harm or death, where the person threatened develops a reasonable fear that the threat will be carried out” and carries a sentence of up to one year in prison.
According to the prosecutors, the investigation established that late on August 30, “Tamaz Elizbarashvili and one of the victims met by chance at a restaurant” in Tbilisi, followed by “verbal conflict” between them “over a comment Elizbarashvili had previously posted on social media about the victim and his family.”
The statement said Elizbarashvili “threatened the victim and the accompanying people,” allegedly telling them “he would not let the matter rest” and “would be back in about 30 minutes,” and warning them not to leave the restaurant premises.
The agency said that because “the victims knew that Elizbarashvili possessed a weapon that he might use against them,” they “developed a reasonable fear for their lives and health” and decided to leave the restaurant. At around 12:20 a.m., the prosecutor’s office said, “Elizbarashvili returned to the scene to carry out his threat.”
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, he “had his hand demonstratively tucked inside his jacket, was armed, and tried to force his way into the restaurant,” continuing to “threaten and swear at the victims.”
“Some of the victims who had not managed to leave in time and were still near the restaurant developed a reasonable fear that the threat would be carried out,” the agency said, noting that Elizbarashvili “still entered the restaurant premises” and left the area after making sure the alleged victims were no longer there.
The prosecutor’s office then pointed to Elizbarashvili’s August 31 social media post and subsequent livestream, “in which he continued making threats and demanded an apology,” due to which the alleged victims “developed a reasonable fear.”
Elizbarashvili had been detained late on September 1 at his home on administrative charges of disobeying police. His detention followed a police stop and search in Tbilisi as part of an investigation into allegations of threats and the purchase and possession of firearms.
He suggested that those involved in the August 30 confrontation included several employees of pro-government, British-sanctioned TV Imedi.
In an August 31 Facebook post, Elizbarashvili addressed employees of the channel, saying they had “really crossed the line” during the encounter at Restaurant Skhva and demanding an apology by the end of the day.
In a subsequent livestream, he said about eight people identifying as Imedi TV employees confronted him over his social media posts, accusing them of pressing him to apologize. Elizbarashvili said he refused to apologize, left to take his wife home, and returned 25 minutes later to find the group gone. He repeated his demand for an apology during the livestream, warning: “If you don’t apologize, I will find you one by one, make you kneel and [f…] you in the mouth.”
The prosecutor’s office is separately investigating the alleged assault against Elizbarashvili’s lawyer, Ia Siranashvili. She accused police of physical violence, alleging that she was not allowed to attend Elizbarashvili’s home search and that “five police officers” kicked her.
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