Home of Tbilisi Club Bassiani’s Cofounder Raided by Police

Bassiani has long been targeted by what the Tbilisi, Georgia nightclub has called an “illegitimate government” in a statement.

Dance music lovers with a finger on the pulse of its global community might be feeling deja vu at the news that police raided the home of Tato Getia, the cofounder of Tbilisi, Georgia nightclub Bassiani.

According to a statement shared by Bassiani on Instagram, Getia’s home was infiltrated by authorities early in the morning yesterday, April 30. With his child there to bear witness, police officers were “targeting the pregnant wife of BASSIANI’s co-founder,” it says without specifying how they did so.

The statement notes that Getia is a member of Tbilisi’s Shame Movement. The initiative aims to challenge the legitimacy of the Georgia Dream party currently in power and criticize what it considers pro-Russia leanings on the part of its constituents. The Shame Movement gained significant traction in 2019.

“Anti-democratic amendments to the electoral code and the regime’s complete grip over the judiciary system further corrode the fragile remnants of justice and the prospect of free elections,” reads a passage of Bassiani’s statement. “The criminalization of insults directed at government officials, police, and civil servants — coupled with systemic pressure against public servants who are critical of the regime — reinforces the logic of authoritarian rule.”

This is not the first time authorities have put pressure on people involved with Bassiani. In May 2018, the club itself was one of two raided by police, who arrested a total of eight individuals suspected to be drug dealers. The incidents sparked protests in the Georgian capital, leading authorities to halt their investigation of Bassiani.

The club’s statement closes on a hopeful note. “We believe this persecution is destined to fail — for our unwavering solidarity has always been our shield, and we’ll forever stand together, for in one another we find our strength and hope,” it reads. “Together we’ve been, and together we’ll remain, until the very last.”