Social media users demanded an effective investigation into the attack on the imam in Akhaltsikhe.
The authorities of Georgia must conduct an effective investigation into the attack on the imam of the mosque in Akhaltsikhe, Shevket Dvalidze, punish those responsible, and verify his claims of pressure from security forces, said social media users.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on July 30, it became known that in Akhaltsikhe, in the yard of his father's house, the imam of the local mosque, a Meskhetian Turk, Shevket Dvalidze, was beaten. According to him, the police insisted that he withdraw his statement about the beating. The reason for the conflict was the linguistic and religious affiliation of the victims, human rights defenders indicated.
Meskhetian Turks (Turk. Ahıska Türkleri) are ethnic Turks who historically lived in Meskhetia – a region in the southwest of Georgia. Currently, Meskhetian Turks live in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, and the USA. They are also referred to as "ахыска", "Turks-Ahıska", "Akhaltsikhe Turks", "Caucasian Turks". In 2004-2005, some Meskhetian Turks living in the Krasnodar region left for the USA under pressure from local authorities, as reported in the material "Meskhetian Turks" published in the "Directory" on the "Caucasian Knot".
Commentators expressed distrust of Georgian security forces
On the "Caucasian Knot" Facebook page, two posts about the beating of imam Shevket Dvalidze in Akhaltsikhe received a total of 1811 reactions from users and 2625 comments.
Users demanded that the authorities of Georgia fairly investigate the attack and punish those responsible. "The main thing is to find them and punish them justly," wrote Musslim Bangayev. "An investigation should be conducted to find out who attacked and initiated the attack," pointed out Meri Fortman. "Do not withdraw the statement: it was a group beating, let them answer in court," urged Nadezhda Bayramova.
Some commentators expressed distrust in the actions of law enforcement agencies. "And the scariest thing is that the police are silent and support the rapists," wrote Leila Budagashvili. "In Georgia, no one is arrested for this. If they pretend to arrest someone for appearances, they are released the next day," stated Ismail Shikhiyev. "Where are the law enforcement agencies looking?" asked Ophelia Zeynalova.
Commentators called the attack on a religious figure unacceptable. "It is a disgrace when someone raises a hand against a priest. This means that the one who does this does not respect their religion or their people," wrote Bekhman Iskenderov. "How could inhumans raise their hands against someone who was a spiritual mentor to people, being deeply religious?!" exclaimed user Strana Ubykhia. "A normal person cannot raise a hand against an imam! Society is degrading," believes Miryem M..
The language of communication cannot be a reason for violence, users emphasized. "People speak the language they want. What are the complaints about?" wrote Meruzhan Khumaryan. "The Tsarsky district speaks Turkish entirely. So what? This is not a reason for a fight," pointed out Marina Khromaditi.
Some commentators suggested that the incident could be a deliberate provocation aimed at inciting interethnic and religious hostility. "For centuries, our peoples have lived side by side. Provocateurs sow enmity," wrote Gulnara Guseynova. "This is done intentionally to pit our peoples and our religions against each other," believes Svetlana Svetlana.
Muslims in Georgia have repeatedly complained about discrimination
Although the current incident occurred in Samtskhe-Javakheti, issues related to the rights of the Muslim community have previously been the subject of conflicts in other regions of Georgia – specifically in Adjara.
Thus, on November 30, 2023, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the authorities of Georgia did not take adequate measures to prevent religious discrimination and violence against the organizers of a Muslim boarding house in Kobuleti. The court awarded compensation to the applicants.
This concerns an incident that occurred on September 10, 2014, when residents of Kobuleti hung a pig's head on the door of the building where a Turkish citizen planned to open a Muslim boarding house, which protesters called a madrasa. Protests took place at the building on September 11 and 17. During one of them, protesters surrounded the boarding house with barricades and demanded that Orthodoxy be declared the state religion of Georgia. The Muslim community filed a complaint with the Batumi City Court regarding discrimination.
Similar incidents have also occurred in the southern regions of Russia. On September 14, 2025, the Muslim administration of Adygea and the Krasnodar region reported that a pig's head was thrown at the mosque in the village of Kozet in the Takhtamukay district of Adygea. Telegram users called for finding and punishing the author of the provocation. The next day, the Investigative Committee reported that a 43-year-old resident of Anapa was detained, and the case was investigated under the article on publicly insulting the feelings of believers.
In December 2019, a new mufti of the Eastern Administration of Muslims of Georgia was elected at a meeting of the Muslim Council in Batumi. According to human rights defenders, the elections were organized in two days and were not transparent. Three members resigned in protest, stating that the elections were held under pressure.
On September 30, 2019, the Batumi City Court recognized the refusal of the city hall to build a mosque as discriminatory and ordered officials to reconsider the decision. The court indicated that the dense development of the area did not prevent the construction of Christian churches there. Earlier, the Batumi city hall denied the community permission to build a new mosque on the land it had purchased, citing dense residential development. After that, the community opened a prayer house in a temporary wooden structure on that land.
In 2018, authors of a study conducted in four districts of Adjara stated that Muslim women face discrimination in schools and employment. Some of them do not receive secondary and higher education and do not participate in political and public life, researchers indicated.
Muslims in Moscow have also complained about discrimination. Thus, on July 21, 2023, after Friday prayers at the historical mosque in Moscow, believers held a procession, chanting: "Allahu Akbar", expressing protest against raids by security forces in mosques in the Moscow region. The protest was triggered, in particular, by document checks during prayers on July 7, 2023, at the mosque in the Moscow region of Kotelniki. The head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov demanded that security forces be held accountable. State Duma deputy Adam Delimkhanov met with the governor of the Moscow region regarding this and promised to punish those responsible. Later, Kadyrov announced that a new mosque is planned to be built in the south of Moscow, on Akhmat Kadyrov Street.
In June 2015, the building of the Muslim boarding house in Kobuleti was shot at, but the perpetrator was not detained. Employees of the institution were also threatened with violence, and some shops refused to sell goods to them, human rights defenders stated. Due to pressure, the new boarding house did not open, and 40 children spent the school year in an old building designed for 15 people. In July, local residents again held a rally against the operation of the institution.
In September 2013, the mufti of the Khulo district, Guram-Aslan Abashidze, reported psychological pressure on children from Muslim families. According to him, in a kindergarten in Khulo, where most of the children were Muslims, children were forced to say Christian prayers before meals. At that time, community representatives complained that due to a lack of space in the only mosque in Batumi, believers were forced to pray in the street and demanded land for the construction of a new mosque.