Democracy & Freedom Watch

TBILISI, DFWatch--Thousands of parishioners and clerics from the Georgian Orthodox Church May 17 prevented LGBT rights activists from carrying through ...

TBILISI, DFWatch--Rallies are planned in Tbilisi today to prevent a gathering of activists who want to mark the International Day ...

TBILISI, DFWatch--The Patriarch’s Easter epistle has caused a debate about abortion in Georgia. Ilia II in his recent sermon called ...

TBILISI, DFWatch--Police in Georgia Wednesday dispersed a peaceful protest organized by students and youth groups that wanted to mark the ...

TBILISI, DFWatch--The new government is not conducting illegal surveillance of citizens, but the fear people have of being tracked should ...

TBILISI, DFWatch--The Armenian community in Georgia on Wednesday held a rally outside the Turkish embassy in Tbilisi. Their demand was ...

TBILISI, DFWatch--Georgians in the United States rallied in New York Friday, in protest against the foreign policy of the Ivanishvili ...

DFWatch: What was the methodology of your latest survey? Were there any changes compared to the previous surveys that you’ve ...

TBILISI, DFWatch--The students at the Agriculture University continued their protest Friday, and handed Education Minister Giorgi Margvelashvili documents which were ...

TBILISI, DFWatch--For the last two days, students at an agricultural college have been at the center of a dispute between ...

TBILISI, DFWatch--A debate is brewing in Georgia about the credentials of the new justice minister, as Thea Tsulukiani's opponents claim ...

TBILISI, DFWatch--The goal of a new reform of local government is to involve locals in solving their own problems, like ...

TBILISI, DFWatch--Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava was charged with money laundering and embezzlement of the city's money, but not detained. Politicians from ...

TBILISI, DFWatch--The former minister of sport and youth affairs, a close ally of president Saakashvili, has been detained by Tbilisi ...

TBILISI, DFWatch--Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Georgia met for a conference on Monday to sum up the three months after the ...

TBILISI, DFWatch--Police today detained a person who Friday hit Chiora Taktakishvili, member of parliament for the National Movement, causing bleeding ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- The Armenian Diocese in Georgia accuses President Mikheil Saakashvili of making provocative statements regarding an ethnic Armenian ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- Georgia marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Sunday, as the Ombudsman’s Office organized a meeting at Library of ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- There is a small crowd gathered in the hall giving electronic signatures together with ID cards to ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- The speaker of the Georgian parliament Saturday signed into law a bill which will release 3 000 ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- Sergeant Giorgi Kikadze, the nineteenth Georgian soldier to lose his life in Afghanistan, was buried today in ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- The supervisory board of Georgia’s Public Broadcaster Wednesday elected a new director as replacement for Giorgi Chanturia, ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- The political party section of NDI’s first survey after the parliamentary election shows a U-turn compared to ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- A religious conflict has broken out in a village in Georgia after orthodox Christians started interrupting Muslims ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- The new government's proposed budget is in some regards unrealistic, according to a new report. Economic Policy Research ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- A new study has revealed the true cost of Georgia's new parliament: USD 196 million. Institute for Development ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - There are stores in between the large markets near the central train station in Tbilisi were people ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- It has caused great controversy in Georgia that its representatives at a session of the United Nations ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- What does it take to get a company listed on London Stock Exchange (LSE)? That was one ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili claims he is ready to give his TV channel to Georgian Public Broadcaster ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- The Georgian Dream coalition had on its agenda to change many things after coming to power, including ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- A recently established movement called SOS on Thursday gathered to celebrate the 9 year anniversary of the ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- Georgia’s Revenue Service November 6 started an unscheduled audit of the financial activity of the Public Broadcaster. Finance ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- Moscow is ready to consider allowing Georgian wine back onto the Russian market. Andrei Denisov, First Deputy Foreign ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- Wednesday morning, the Georgian prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili met NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Brussels. After ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- A former interior minister and two military officers are appearing in court Friday for a preliminary detention ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- One of the controversial cuts Prime Minister Ivanishvili wants to make in next year's budget is to ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- The miners in Georgia are not giving up as they enter their fourth week of protest in ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- Workers in the mining town Chiatura are keeping up a several weeks' long protest. Part of them ...

Tbilisi, DF Watch - Georgia’s new prison minister says the law about amnesty may come into force before November 23, and ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- The new government has still not decided whether to implement Saakashvili’s idea of building a completely new ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- Georgia's eighth parliament has declared trust in the new government by 88 votes against 54. There are 150 ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- Thursday parliament will approve the new government presented by the Georgian Dream coalition. Parliament might also approve the ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- A group of volunteer youth in Tbilisi decided to organize a charity event in the city internationally ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- President Mikheil Saakashvili today gave Georgian citizenship to the future prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. October 2011, the former ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- The EU ambassador to Georgia thinks the ongoing process of transfer of power is another test for ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- The new governing coalition will have as goal to establish a real multiparty system in Georgia, Georgian ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- Georgia’s capital last weekend was the scene of elaborate display of handicraft, winemaking, food and fun, as ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- Georgian Dream leader Bidzina Ivanishvili Monday presented his candidates for government ministers and other important positions, after ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- Groups on Sunday protested against the attack on a well-known Georgian writer who was beaten after participating ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- While the country is rocked by political tension, rallies and protests, up to twenty students and others ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -- One of Georgia's most popular newspapers on Wednesday revealed the identity of guards working in a controversial ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – Another series of violations are regularly reported through local non-government organizations, media outlets and social networks from ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - «Your Democracy Hurts” -- this is one of the messages students have been sending to the government ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – The wave of rallies and demonstrations against torture in the prison system shows no signs of abating ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - “I bet daddy can see me here,” a boy of about 12 told her grandmother, both standing ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Galina Nemsitsveridze waited outside the entrance hall of Gldani prison on Friday, like hundreds of other people ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – Anger is not abating in Georgia, after the second minister leaves because of revelations of prisoner abuse. The ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – For the last 24 hours, the whole of Georgia has been concerned about five videos released by ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Salome (22) is a reporter for a Tbilisi-based online newspaper. Due to her job, she needs to ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas O. Melia, who on Wednesday completed his visit to Georgia, evaluated ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Georgia on Tuesday lost a football match against Spain 0-1. The Jvarosnebi team managed to keep the score ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Georgia's richest says he has sold his last assets in Russia. A US fund purchases Stolenskaya Niva ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - 63 percent of Georgians approve of the appointment of the former interior minister as prime minister; 47 ...

What are the main differences which occurred for the last survey compared to the last two surveys conducted by NDI?Most ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – A new survey gives the ruling National Movement party a comfortable lead ahead of the parliamentary election ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – Democracy groups demand that the date of the parliamentary is brought forward for Georgians living abroad. The election ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Georgian National Platform, a coalition of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), has released a statement regarding the period ...

Tbilisi, DFWatch - Georgia Interior Ministry released a footage of operation of Georgian special forces against Islamist militants from Russia’s ...

Tbilisi, DFWatch - Georgia says a serious border incident which led to fourteen deaths can not be a reason for ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Two members of Georgian Interior Affairs Ministry special unit and one military doctor has died, while eleven ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Georgia's State Audit Service wants to fine a non-governmental organization (NGO) which supports the government by 5 ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – A Georgian bank affiliated with the largest opposition bloc has been fined with USD 11 609 500 ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgian rescue workers have conducted three separated operations to save foreign climbers stuck in the Georgian mountains. One ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – For many years, Goga has been selling various old things in downtown Tbilisi. He mostly sells to ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – For more than a month, journalists with an opposition-leaning news service in Georgia have been followed around ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Georgia's National Communications Commission (GNCC) claims that broadcasters will be forced to air free political commercials, even ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – The must-carry and must-offer principle is starting to have effect also around Georgia’s different regions. People living in ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – Groups in Georgia are concerned that a number of legislative changes will worsen the situation in regards ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – The popular newspaper Alia, which has been published in Georgia since 1995, has been fined about USD ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – The opposition Georgian Dream coalition Sunday continued showing off its support with a massive rally in Batumi, ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – A new report shows that legislative changes ushered in by the Georgian government to counter the influence ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Media organizations, cable operator companies, non-government organizations and the National Communication Commission (GNCC ) sat down together ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - A bank director in Georgia who authorities removed from his job will get his old job back. This ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Media workers and others demonstrated in front of the old parliament in Tbilisi Wednesday in support of ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - More of Maestro's satellite equipment was seized yesterday by police on the Georgian border, the company's director ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Media in Georgia have launched a campaign in support of TV company Maestro, which had thousands of ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Luis from Ecuador has been traveling for seven years around the world. This time he stops in ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - 20 media outlets in Georgia gathered today at Tbilisi Marriott Hotel to discuss the recent seizure of ...

GURJAANI, DFWatch - There are no windows left in the Salimov family house. Their bread bakery has collapsed together with ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – The inquest into the death of a 23 year old woman and a 25 year old man ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Georgia was hit by a storm Thursday that killed livestock and injured eighteen people and caused flooding ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – A 23-year old woman and a 25-year old man died in a rope jumping accident in Tbilisi ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Do you know the deductive method? Who was Jack London? What is Watergate? These are some of ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Journalists with Maestro demonstrated in front of the old parliament building in Tbilisi Friday. Their demand was that ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - The National Enforcement Bureau has asked Tbilisi City Court to transfer the shares of Cartu Group and ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – The Government is to seize satellite receivers belonging to the small, independent TV station Maestro under a ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – There is still no confirmation of an alleged raid of a prison in Tbilisi Friday night. In ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – A Georgian Olympic judo champion says a sports hall named after him in Eastern Georgia was renamed ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – Shortly after rumours of a raid inside the largest prison in the country, Georgia's Prison Ministry reports ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Friday evening there was a rush of postings on Facebook and Internet forums saying that a special ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – Parliament voted 102 against 7 today to declare trust in the new government and its action plan ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – The government plans to spend four billion lari to develop agriculture, six billion on pensions, three billion ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – The Georgian opposition figure head Bidzina Ivanishvili continued his tour of the country's regions Sunday by staging ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – In the years from 2004 to 2011, the Georgian Parliament had ten votes of confidence for the ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - A new report shows that President Saakashvili turned his back on Georgian farmers in order to develop ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgian opposition billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili has complained to the United Nations Human Rights Committee. Georgian Dream spokesperson Tina ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – The ombudsman in Georgia Tuesday asked the chief prosecutor to investigate suspected cases of prisoner mistreatment at ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – A movie about the Russo-Georgian war in 2008 is causing controversy among film critics and on social ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Police Thursday night seized 300 000 satellite dishes in several locations around the country. This will prevent ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Refugees in Georgia once more demonstrated for ther rights Tuesday in front of the Refugee Ministry building. About ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – The ruling party in Georgia defends its policy of not interfering in the television sector to provide ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – Walking the streets of Tbilisi, at several spots you will see groups of children dressed in worn-out, ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - A democracy campaign in Georgia says recent developments may put in doubt the legitimacy of the whole ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – The owner of TV and radio distributor Stereo+ says it has lost all its clients after signing ...

KUTAISI, DFWatch – The main opposition bloc in Georgia Sunday mobilized supporters again, this time in the second largest city ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – A new strongly pro-government organization says the main opposition bloc in Georgia may be disqualified in the ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – Leaders may come to power and leave power, but institutions should be strengthened, Secretary of State Hillary ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – Another case of a possibly politically motivated dismissal has come to light. This time it's an employee ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – A democracy campaign in Georgia is keeping up the pressure on the government to change the law ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – An investigation has been launched in Italy regarding 33 rigged football games, and Georgia's most famous football ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – After dismissing the head of the national examinations center, Georgia's education minister has hired the head of ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgia's whole educations sector has been thrown into crisis, as right before the national tests over a ...

The opposition movement Georgian Dream mobilized tens of thousands of supporters in Tbilisi Sunday. Crowds marched from three different locations ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – For the first time in Georgia's history, the main celebration on Independence Day took place not in ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Georgia celebrates Independence Day today on May 26. The day is a celebration of restoration of independence ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Groups organized rally in front of Justice Ministry on Friday to protest against a number of incidents ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – In Georgia, rising fuel prices has spurred a new movement that is questioning the cozy connection between ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – A new initiative by the moderate opposition Christian Democrats to ban same-sex marriage and write Christianity into ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgia and Azerbaijan are working on delineating their border, in order to solve the problem regarding Davit ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – The protest continues against the construction work on a historic square in Tbilisi, after workers Saturday started ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – The labor code should contribute to employment, faster investments and motivate investors, and only after this may ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgian Railway is nearer to going live on London Stock Exchange. Georgia’s Economy Ministry confirms the listing, previously ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – A prisoner in Georgia says he was sexually abused by prison staff and later told he would ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – After peaceful demonstrators against homophobia were beaten by counter-demonstrators Thursday, people gathered in front of parliament building ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – A pro-democracy campaign in Georgia Thursday presented their latest package of modifications to various aspects of the ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - There are two articles in Georgia’s Labor Code which entitles employers to terminate a labor contract without ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - A celebration of the international day for the fight against homophobia Thursday turned violent as demonstrators were ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – The recently founded Channel 9 TV, which is affiliated with Bidzina Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream party, has bought ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - In a new report, the EU Commission criticizes Georgia’s government for the police brutality on May 26, ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Residents in the disaster struck district of Tbilisi speak about different reasons causing damage during heavy flooding ...

BILISI, DFWatch - On Saint Andrew's Day May 12, refugees from Abkhazia gathered at the parliament building in Tbilisi to ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – After a series of incidents with security and police, journalists gathered in Tbilisi to share their stories ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Georgia was hit by heavy rain overnight, causing flash flooding many places. Five deaths are reported in ...

TBILISI, Dfwatch - Groups in Tbilisi today held a small symbolic protest against the mass cutting of trees in the ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – One hundred year old trees are being cut down in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi and are replaced with ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - According to unofficial information, 13 people died in the work place in 2011 in Georgia. No official numbers ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Russia’s national antiterrorism committee says it has foiled a terrorist plot planned against the Olympics Games in ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – European liberal politicians visited an opposition billionaire in Tbilisi Thursday to contribute their views on how democracy ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - A series of discussion was held in Tbilisi on Tuesday to review conflict problems in Georgia. Comparisons ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – The opposition billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili is going back to court, in a further effort to be recognized ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Media and law organizations in Georgia suggest another package of legislative amendments for the electoral environment in ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Groups gathered Thursday to mark World Press Freedom Day with a day-long discussion about how well suited ...

TBLISI, DFWatch - An independent medical expert says the injuries seen on photos of a prisoner’s dead body were caused ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – People gathered in front of parliament Thursday to protest against mistreatment of prisoners, spurred by the news ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – There are suspicions that a prisoner may have died as a result of torture. The family of Zurab ...

TBILISI, DFWatch -The Georgian ombudsman criticizes a control body overseeing the financing of political parties for having violated civil rights. Earlier ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – Thousands gathered Tuesday in central Tbilisi to celebrate the International Worker's Day, May 1 and demonstrate in ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Georgia’s vice prime minister criticizes foreign embassies in Tbilisi of not following up a new agreement meant ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Nani (48) left Georgia about 17 years ago to work in Italy and send money to her ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - 23 per cent of Georgia's population is away from the country, 80 per cent of which are ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - In a letter to Hilary Clinton, U.S. Senator John McCain expresses concern about Georgia’s occupied territories and ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Russian President calls his Georgian counterpart clueless and says that sooner or later there will be a ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgia's interior minister, Vano Merabishvili, must today answer a question in parliament about a warning he received ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Two groups in Georgia want to change a new secrecy law which they say restricts access to ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - The European Union and United Nations Development Program is starting a new round of media monitoring in ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Georgia’s Defense Ministry informs that another soldier has died in Afghanistan, bringing the total number of servicemen ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Štefan Füle, the EU’s commissioner for enlargement, promises that the upcoming parliamentary elections in Georgia will remain ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly again says Russia's practice of issuing passport in territories it occupies ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - A delegation of South African farmers have arrived in Georgia to check the prospects of taking root ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - One of the largest electronics chains in Georgia has been taken away from its founder, as the ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - There are many reports in Georgia these days of deprivation of property rights. People abandon their property ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - How can Armenia and Georgia create more growth – literally – in their border region? Agriculture was ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - The de facto president of Georgia’s breakaway region Abkhazia recently said a veteran from Abkhazia had died ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Saturday morning, the day before Easter, there is a large crowd at the railway station in Tbilisi. ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Givi Maisuradze (41) is one of many independent taxi drivers in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi. He works day and ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili continues his struggle to be allowed to stand for election for parliament in ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Around ten youth activists today protested outside the Georgian National Communication Commission against the fining of a ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Tbilisi City Court has sentenced a Russian businessman to pay a fine of about USD 1 200 because ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - They came holding candles to commemorate the twenty people who died here twenty three years ago. But ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Yesterday, he was denied having his political rights restored, but today Georgia’s richest man vowed to regain ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Georgian authorities today denied the billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili of becoming a citizen of his native country. Today's decision ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - The billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is considered the main competitor of the Georgian government, is counting the ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Marking a break with single issue campaigning, rights groups in Tbilisi Saturday held a demonstration for solidarity ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - The current situation in Georgian prisons remains one of the main problems in the human rights field, ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Vakhtang Nadibaidze (53) stands in line in front of the Polish embassy, waiting for the answer to ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Representatives of Tbilisi State University’s student's union Wednesday beat two students. The students who were beaten believe the ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Here in Georgia, the 'This Affects You Too' campaign continues as organizers delivered a special appeal to ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Up to forty people gathered Thursday in front of the police building in Khashuri, a town in ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Democracy campaigners in the former Soviet republic of Georgia call for international observers to come and monitor ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Georgia's president Mikheil Saakashvili was not only confronted with objections to his rule inside the parliament building ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - The small fireplace, wooden chairs, all the logs and even the small plant planted one day ago ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Four more trees were cut in Tbilisi's old Kikvidze Park yesterday night while activists left the area ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Groups in Georgia Thursday continued their campaign against the new party financing rules which were ushered in ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - On Dadiani Street in northern Tbilisi near Didube metro, there is a big old park called Kikvidze ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - The loud sound of a horn and whistles was heard outside parliament in Tbilisi today, as activists ...

TBILISI, DFWatch – Outspoken activists and rights groups met in Tbilisi today and signed a petition called ‘It affects you ...

  TBILISI, DFWatch - Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili today presented the members of the initiative group for his new political party ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Tbilisi's old Gudiashvili Square was fully covered with white snow on Sunday as people showed up to ...

TBILISI, DFWatch - Organizations in the former Soviet republic of Georgia are planning to take immediate measures together with media ...