Former Georgian Primer Hospitalized After Being Beaten in Batumi

Giorgi Gakharia, a former prime minister of Georgia who now leads one of the country's main opposition groups, was hospitalised after being severely beaten late on Tuesday, a spokeswoman for his party said.

Ana Buchukuri said Gakharia had sustained injuries on his face and head during an assault by several men at a hotel lobby in Batumi, a city on the Black Sea coast, The Caspian Post reports, citing Reuters.

"He was brutally beaten but survived," she said.

Gakharia said his health was stable in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

His party, For Georgia, called the assault a "brutal, coordinated group attack" and said the government was to blame.

"This politically motivated attack is a blatant attempt to intimidate the opposition and suppress dissenting voices," the party said in a statement quoted by the Interpress news agency.

Georgia has been plunged into political crisis following an October parliamentary election which the opposition charges was stolen by the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party. GD, in power since 2012, denies any wrongdoing.