The beating of a tourist from Minsk in Tbilisi caused a resonance on the internet.

The rude response of the girl to the man's proposal to get acquainted cannot justify violence, and physical assault must be strictly punished, up to actual imprisonment, users of social networks pointed out while commenting on the beating of a tourist from Minsk in Tbilisi.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on October 30, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia announced the detention of a man after an attack at the Tbilisi railway station on fitness trainer Alexandra from Minsk. The woman linked the attack to the Russian language, while the detained man explained the incident as a rude refusal to get acquainted. The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported an investigation into the case of violence, without specifying the motive for the attack.

Commentators stated that there is no justification for violence

The message about the attack on the tourist was published on October 31 on the page of "Caucasian Knot" on Facebook*, which has about 164 thousand users. As of 13:50 Moscow time on November 2, this post received 184 reactions from users and 665 comments.

Some commentators emphasized that a woman has the right to refuse to get acquainted, and such a refusal does not justify violence.

"So, should we hit her for a rude or any other refusal?! Is she obliged to get acquainted?! What kind of argument is that?! Such individuals are a disgrace to Georgia! I think if he had behaved like a noble Georgian man, this girl would have been ashamed not to get acquainted with him. Apparently, he was rude and received an appropriate refusal," wrote Nana Sukhashvili.

"Why should she have gotten acquainted with him? If she doesn't want to, should she be hit?" asked Yelena Gongadze.

"She is a tourist! A guest of Georgia! On what grounds should someone approach and hit her? What right did he have? She was talking to her friend. Why is he interfering? If she doesn't want to get acquainted, leave her alone! No, our people can't do that. If she came to Georgia and especially speaks Russian, they have this opinion that she must go with him. Even obliged! You see how he didn't accept her refusal! He hit her immediately. And where is the police that should be on the platform, where were they looking? For such, at least five years should be given! Not knowing the person, he hits her <…>", expressed her outrage Vika Merkulova.

Participants in the discussion also demanded punishment for the attacker and expressed support for imprisonment for violence.

"Very good! Everyone who raises a hand against the weak belongs in prison," wrote Tamara Gongadze.

"Earlier, for one curse, they gave a minimum of 15 days. And for a hit – up to six years. Depending on what kind of hit was inflicted," noted Alekos Lazaridis.

"Punish severely," called Kolya Kacharava.

Some commentators doubted the linguistic motive for the attack and linked the incident to the behavior of the tourist.

"Nonsense! I am Russian, born and raised here! Nothing like this has ever happened!" wrote Nata Reshetnikova.

"No one ever hits anyone for speaking Russian, but for an inappropriate response and behavior, they can respond rudely, but women should not be hit," stated Nona Ninua.

"They hit not for the Russian language, but for behavior," wrote Gia George.

The tourist shared details of the incident

A video with the story of the tourist from Minsk Alexandra was published by the Telegram channel "Bad News". At the beginning of the recording, the woman stated that she was already home. According to her, during their trip to Georgia, she and her friend spent half a day at the police station and several hours in court after the attack on her.

According to Alexandra, on the third day of their trip, the women moved from Batumi to Tbilisi. At the station, while her friend was calling a taxi, a large-built man approached them. "I asked him to step away from me, to which he reacted by hitting my cheek," Alexandra recounted. According to her, the hit was strong; the man hit her with an open palm.

She formulated her assumption about the reason for the attack as follows: "It seemed to us that it was all because of the Russian language. Although the man later said in the police station that he wanted to get acquainted with us, and we sent him to three cheerful letters." Alexandra also mentioned that the man was loudly swearing and insulting them. There were many people around, but no one intervened. She suggested that witnesses might have been afraid of the attacker.

The police detained the suspect within a few minutes, after which the women were taken to the station to give statements, Alexandra reported. They waited for the investigator for about an hour. During this time, police officers calmed them down and tried to cheer them up. "They brought us heart-shaped donuts because we last ate in the morning and just wanted to call a taxi, put our suitcases down, and go for a walk," the tourist recounted.

According to Alexandra, the incident did not change her attitude towards Georgia and its people. "In any country, there are [vividly expressive individuals] who deserve punishment," she said.

The time of the attack was clarified by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia in responses to local publications. The incident occurred ten days before the publication of the message on October 30, the agency reported to On.ge. In a publication by Ambebi.ge on October 28, the Ministry's own response is cited, according to which the attack occurred about a week earlier, and the man was detained in hot pursuit.

The attack on Alexandra occurred ten days before the incident was published in the media, according to a message from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia to On.ge. The agency clarified that the suspect was detained in hot pursuit.

After the tourist's appeal, the police conducted an investigation and forwarded the case to court, Netgazeti reported. The authorities of Georgia allowed the tourist from Minsk and her friend to leave the country while the investigation was ongoing.