TBILISI -- A son of Georgia's first President Zviyad Gamsakhurdia is in a critical condition after a violent attack in the capital, officials and medics say.
A doctor at Tbilisi’s Khechinashvili hospital told reporters on December 20 that 43-year-old Tsotne Gamsakhurdia was hospitalized overnight with multiple skull fractures and stab wounds on his body.
"Although two surgeries -- one on his head and one on his chest -- went smoothly, the patient remains in a very critical condition," doctor Nikoloz Kvachadze said, adding that additional surgeries may be needed.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement that a probe had been launched into "attempted murder."
In 2009, Tsotne Gamsakhurdia was sentenced to 9 years in prison for attempted murder and illegal gun possession.
His term was later extended by a year for violations of prison regulations.
But Gamsakhurdia was released from prison early after he was pardoned in 2012 by then-President Mikheil Saakashvili.
He was also indicted of spying for Russia in 2007, but the charge was later dropped.
His father Zviyad Gamsakhurdia, a prominent Soviet-era dissident, led the country between 1991 and 1992.
He was killed in Georgia's western region of Samegrelo on December 31, 1993, in circumstances that remain unclear.
Son Of Georgia's First President In 'Critical Condition' After Attack
Tsotne Gamsakhurdia reportedly underwent two surgeries.