Georgian anti-mine protesters ‘attacked by masked men’

Two anti-mining activists in central Georgia reported being attacked by unknown masked individuals.

Kote Abdushelishvili said He was attacked by three masked men in Tbilisi on Tuesday. He said he suffered minor injuries to his body and head. Eyewitnesses told him that his attackers were armed with batons.

Abdushelishvili said his attackers fled in a car with French license plates. He said there were surveillance cameras nearby but he doubted the attack would be properly investigated.

Abdushelishvili is the second person to protest against mining activities in the central Georgian village of Zodi and report an attack.

On Sunday, a Facebook page run by local residents reported that Niko Gaprindashvili was attacked by three titushki – a Ukrainian slang for plainclothes security forces used to attack government critics.

Both Abdushelishvili and Gaprindashvili have helped organize protests against the Georgian Manganese mining company in Zodi.

Georgian Manganese has been accused for years of causing massive damage in villages near the city of Chiatura, destroying houses and village infrastructure and causing fissures in and around several villages.

Protesters against Georgian Manganese in the region have used extreme forms of protest in the past to demand compensation for their destroyed homes, including Hunger strikes and sewing up lips and eyes.

Protesters in Chiatura also called on the government to intervene and adequately quantify the damage in their villages or to mediate in their disputes with Georgian Manganese.

(Read more: In pictures | Life on the brink of collapse in Shukruti)

Zodi residents have warned that mining could cause irreparable damage to the village. They have required that Georgian Manganese define the residential areas of the village and the areas in which they want to mine.

Another protest is planned is scheduled to take place in the village on June 30th.

The attacks take place in the midst of a ongoing campaign of attacks on government critics, civil society figures and opposition politicians. Investigations into these attacks remained inconclusive.

Abdushelishvili said that after the attack, police asked him if he was a member of a non-governmental organization.

“I am not a member of any non-governmental organization. I am not a member of any political party,” he said, adding that he was merely defending the village.

The Interior Ministry stated that started an investigation into Monday’s attack on Gaprindashvili for gang violence.

OC Media has asked the ministry for a comment on the attack on Abdushelishvili.