Opposition Lawmaker Beaten In Georgia

25 August 2005 -- Georgian authorities say an opposition lawmaker and beer company official was beaten and left in a forest in Georgia.
Attackers seized Tamaz Kacheishvili near his home in the capital Tbilisi late yesterday and tied him to a tree in woods outside the capital, where he was found by a shepherd.

According to a leader of his Right Opposition party, Gogi Topadze, Kacheishvili was hospitalized with a concussion, cuts, and bruises.

The Interior Ministry confirmed Kacheishvili was attacked, but declined to give details.

Kacheishvili is a Right Opposition deputy in the national parliament, which is dominated by supporters of President Mikhail Saakashvili, and is also commercial director of Georgian brewer Kazbegi.

Valeri Gelashvili, a member of the opposition Republican Party, was severely beaten last month by attackers who stopped his car. He claimed he was beaten by members of a department of the Interior Ministry, which is in charge of police.

(AP)