Three MPs from Georgia's ruling party, Irakli Zarkua, Viktor Sanikidze and Gela Samkharauli, were involved in a brawl in a hotel restaurant in Abu-Dhabi on January 13.

Video footage circulating on social media shows the three Georgian Dream MPs, who were reportedly in the UAE to attend a Coldplay concert with their families and colleagues, attacking a Georgian citizen, Lasha Gabitashvili, in the restaurant of the Radisson Blu hotel, where all four individuals were staying.

The physical confrontation followed verbal altercations between the men the day before, also at the Radisson Blu. Gabitashvili approached Zaruka and other MPs while filming on his phone, and can be heard calling them “traitors” and “Russian slaves”. The men swore heavily at each other, and footage shows Zurka trying to knock Gabitashvili’s phone out of his hand.

Footage videoed on the morning of January 13 shows Zurka (white shirt) approaching Gabitashvili’s (red t-shirt) table, where he was enjoying breakfast with his wife, and throwing a plate of food thrown in his face. Sanikidze (white t-shirt) then joined the altercation. A fight broke out, disrupting the entire dining area, with the three men repeatedly punching Gabitashvili, who lashed out in response.

The hotel staff attempted to separate the men, and one employee was injured by a plate thrown at him by another alleged attacker, Giorigi Gogoloadze, who was reportedly later detained by local police.

In the video, MP Sanikidze can be heard threatening Gabitashvili after the fight had been broken up, promising that he would be punished for his actions back in Tbilisi. Calls have been circulating on social media for Gabitashvili to receive protection on his return to Georgia, where repression against pro-EU, anti-government protesters has been ramping up again in recent nights.

Anti-government demonstrators in Georgia in recent months have often used the word “slave” to refer to police and GD officials, who they accuse of betraying Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations in favour of closer ties with Russia.

Protesters have taken to the streets across Georgia for nearly 50 consecutive nights, following an announcement from Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze that the country would be suspending its EU membership bid until 2028.

Demonstrators demand new elections, citing allegations of vote rigging by GD in the October 2024 parliamentary vote, and the release of all those unlawfully detained at protests.

Gabitashvili's insults came in reaction to a swathe of police arrests in the city of Batumi on Georgia’s Black Sea coast during the weekend, including that of Mzia Amaglobeli, the director of two independent media outlets, who was arrested on criminal charges after allegedly assaulting a high ranking police officer during a street rally. If convicted, she faces 4-7 years in prison.

Amaglobeli’s detainment was one of at least 30 made at protests in Tbilisi and Batumi on the nights of January 11 and 12, signalling a renewed wave of police hostilities and an attempt by GD authorities to crush Georgia’s ongoing, pro-EU resistance movement.