Public Defender Sozar Subari’s human rights report covering the second half of 2005 criticizes the law enforcement agencies for their failure to investigate a daytime attack against Valeri Gelashvili of the opposition Republican Party last summer; at that time Gelashvili was a parliamentarian.

Gelashvili was attacked and brutally beaten by eight unknown armed men in downtown Tbilisi on July 14, 2005.

“Although the victim himself and the members of the Republican Party rule out potential burglary, police investigator Levan Beridze, after having interrogated several witnesses, announced that the attack aimed at robbing Gelashvili. The investigation still adheres to this version. However, it is clearly seen in television footage aired shortly after the attack that Valery Gelashvili wears a thick gold chain, casting doubts over this version,” the Ombudsman says in the report.

“Suspicions arise that this attack was masterminded by representatives of the authorities. These suspicions are further strengthened by the fact that the crime was committed during the daytime in the downtown of the city, which has not been investigated so far,” the report reads.

Valery Gelashvili was stripped of his MP credentials on March 31 over alleged business activities. The opposition described this decision by the parliamentary majority as “a political persecution of opponents.”