Vegan cafe patrons attacked with sausages

There was an attack on a vegan café in Tbilisi. A group of people burst into the café located not far from the center of Tbilisi and threw sausages and barbecued meat at patrons, cursed at them, pulled a waitress’s hair and smashed plates and dished.

“They were shouting: ‘Eat meat! You are Georgians, aren’t you?’ said one of the employees, who introduced herself as Mary and requested not to indicate her surname.

Soon the assailants were joined by the neighbors of the café. Upon seeing the dreadlocks and piercings of the café owners and their customers, the neighbors immediately considered them to be the instigators of the squabble, and that caused even more of a scandal:

“They didn’t even ask what was going on. They started threatening us, saying they would cut our throats, said Giorgi Gegelashvili, who also works in the café.

The police officers on patrol nearby, who soon responded to the call, also came to a quick conclusion:

“They said, we were picking a fight with people passing by. Though, they saw absolutely nothing and could not even sort things out, said one of the visitors.

The café owners and frequenters of the café recognized the attackers: they were their old acquaintances – a group of ultra-nationalists who had earlier visited the café from time to time.

“They knew that we’re anti-fascists and vegans; and they hate us for that. [During the choas] they threatened to come not just after us, but also after our families, said Giorgi Gegelashvili.

Little is known about these Georgian ultra-right nationalists, although they have been actively discussed on social media.

“There are two categories of nationalists in Georgia. The majority of them are pro-Russian, but there are also anti-West isolationists,” Tengiz Ablotia, a journalist, stated in a Facebook comment. Ablotia believes that those who attacked the café belong to the second category.

Several participants in a Facebook discussion reported that they had witnessed the Georgian ultra-right group marching down the central avenue of Tbilisi on Georgian Independence Day, and they showed the corroborating photos.
Published on: 31.05.2016