Tamaz Elizbarashvili arrested by police

On September 1, in the evening hours, law enforcement officers searched Tamaz Elizbarashvili first in his car, and then in his own residential house. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the investigative actions were conducted under Articles 151 (threat) and 236 (purchase-possession-carrying of firearms) of the Criminal Code. According to Elizbarashvili's lawyer, Lekso Svimonishvili, law enforcement officers did not seize anything illegal as a result of the search. Civil.ge+4

During the search process, Elizbarashvili was arrested under administrative procedures. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the reason for the arrest was disobedience to the lawful request of a police officer, as provided for by Article 173 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. Furthermore, according to "Imedinews", the agency stated that Elizbarashvili hindered the police officers, resisted them, and verbally insulted them. Civil.ge+5

Elizbarashvili's family and lawyers link the incident to an event that occurred on August 30 at the restaurant "Skhva", where, according to them, Elizbarashvili was confronted by employees of the TV company "Imedi". After the incident, Elizbarashvili himself called on the employees of "Imedi" to apologize on social media. Civil.ge+2

Regarding the arrest process, lawyer Ia Siranashvili accused the police of physical violence and stated that he was kicked during the search. Lawyer Lekso Svimonishvili noted that he did not witness the physical violence himself, but there was an aggressive attitude. Elizbarashvili is not a defendant at this stage and has been transferred to a temporary detention isolator. Civil.ge+3