The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has released CCTV footage from the restaurant “Skhva,” capturing businessman and animal rights activist Tamaz Elizbarashvili. According to the agency, on August 30, following a verbal altercation with individuals present at the venue, the entrepreneur returned to the premises armed.
“On August 30, at around 23:40, Tamaz Elizbarashvili and one of the victims crossed paths by chance in a Tbilisi restaurant. A verbal altercation arose between them over a comment Elizbarashvili had previously posted on social media targeting the victim and his family.
During the dispute, Tamaz Elizbarashvili issued threats against the victim and the persons accompanying him. Specifically, he stated that he would not let the matter rest, that he would return in approximately 30 minutes, and demanded that they remain at the restaurant.
To prevent further escalation of the situation, the victims left the premises.
On August 31, at around 00:20, Tamaz Elizbarashvili returned to the scene with the intent to carry out his threats, conspicuously keeping his hand inside the inner pocket of his outerwear.
Elizbarashvili was armed and attempted to enter the venue. At the same time, he continued to threaten the victims and direct profanities at them. Disregarding security personnel, Tamaz Elizbarashvili nevertheless made his way inside the restaurant. After verifying that the victims were no longer there, he left the premises,” the Prosecutor’s Office stated.
On September 4, a social media statement was posted by Shako Kuchashvili, a supporter of the “Georgian Dream” party. He stated that it was he who had the verbal confrontation with Elizbarashvili. He also claimed they had not filed any complaint against the businessman: “We only learned about the opening of the criminal case after law enforcement contacted us and summoned us for questioning.”
“On August 30, at the restaurant ‘Skhva’, I had a verbal altercation with Tamaz Elizbarashvili, because this individual had previously written an offensive comment directed at me and my family members.
My friends intervened to defuse the situation. The incident did not escalate beyond a verbal exchange—there was no foul language, no insults, and certainly no physical altercation. I urged Elizbarashvili to refrain from insulting me and especially my family in the future. In view of his age, I even apologized for the unpleasantness that had occurred and suggested considering the matter settled.
However, Elizbarashvili immediately became aggressive and told us: ‘I will not let this drop, I will be back in half an hour, and every single one of you had better be waiting for me here.’ And indeed, he returned to the restaurant, presumably carrying a firearm.
The entire restaurant became aware of this, including the venue’s security personnel, who, as far as I know, prevented the armed Elizbarashvili from entering.
Claims made in the media by Elizbarashvili himself, his relatives, and his supporters asserting that he was arrested based on a complaint from us are an outright lie. Neither I nor any of my friends present during the incident filed any reports with the police. We learned that a case had been launched only when law enforcement officers contacted us and summoned us for an interview. In full compliance with legal requirements, we provided investigators with our testimony regarding what took place at the restaurant.
In a state governed by the rule of law, cracking down on the unlawful carrying of weapons in a public place requires no formal citizen complaint,” Kuchashvili wrote.
Elizbarashvili was initially detained under administrative procedures on September 1 during a search of his residence. On September 3, the Prosecutor’s Office indicted him under Part 1 of Article 151 of the Criminal Code of Georgia (threat of bodily harm or death, where the victim had reasonable grounds to fear the realization of the threat).