Main opposition candidate in Abkhazia stands down due to ill health, replacement vows to stay on same course
Alhaz Kvitsinia. (Facebook.) TBILISI, DFWatch--One of the opposition parties in Abkhazia has officially nominated its chairman Alhaz Kvitsinia as a candidate for president of the breakaway republic. A local party official said this in a speech at a party congress of the Amtsakhar party, one of the largest opposition parties in the disputed region. Aslan Bzhania, the joint candidate of the Abkhaz opposition, [...]
Alliance of Patriots sends three MPs to Moscow to ‘enhance relations’ between Georgia and Russia
From the left to right: Gocha Tevdoradze, Giorgi Lomia and Ada Marshania, Alliance of Patriots MPs at a press conference on Friday. TBILISI, DFWatch--Three members of the Georgian parliament are to visit Moscow [...]
News
Anti-government protesters’s tent camp attacked at GD leader Ivanishvili’s private resort
The anti-government tent town after the raid. (Photo by Tabula.ge.) TBILISI, DFWatch--A group of angry men assaulted a small protest rally at the residence of Georgian Dream leader, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili on Wednesday, [...]
Russia grants South Ossetians right to stay indefinitely
Vladimir Putin meets with Tskhinvali's de facto president, Anatoly Bibilov in Moscow, 2017. (RIA Novosti.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Russia has granted citizens of South Ossetia the right to stay in Russia indefinitely, in a move [...]
Owner of Georgia’s largest bank plans to go into politics
Mamuka Khazaradze said he was urged to act by the events of June 20. (1tv.ge) TBILISI, DFWatch--The founder of Georgia's largest bank has announced his intention to establish a "public movement", a step [...]
Tbilisi Pride canceled due to safety breach but conservatives gather regardless
Aleksandre Palavandishvili, one of the spokespersons for socially conservative activists who are trying to prevent Tbilisi Pride. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Organizers of Tbilisi Pride called off the queer rights march after the location was [...]
First ever Pride march in the Caucasus to be held in Tbilisi on July 7 amid threats
TBILISI, DFWatch--The first ever Pride march in the Caucasus region is scheduled to take place on Monday in Tbilisi, amid pressure and threats from conservatives. Both the organizers and supporters of Pride on the one [...]
Georgia’s opposition claims charges against leaders of June 21 revolt is political persecution
A police officer puts an electronic bracelet on Nika Melia. (1tv.ge.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Authorities are pursuing criminal charges against several high-profile opposition figures after the June 21-22 uprising in the center of the Georgian [...]
Most of the stranded students at Enguri have made it through
(DFWatch.) ZUGDIDI, DFWatch--Most of the school graduates from Abkhazia who were stuck at Enguri bridge on their way to exams eventually managed to get through on Monday, DFWatch was told by several of [...]
Students stuck at Enguri bridge on their way to exams, due to row between Tbilisi and Sokhumi
(DFWatch.) TBILISI, DFWatch--A group of teenagers from Gali district are stuck on the breakaway Abkhazia side of Enguri bridge after Sokhumi closed the sole passage in the wake of anti-Russian, anti-government rallies in [...]
Sokhumi may close Enguri checkpoint after Georgian MP’s angry outburst about ‘killing’ Russians
Akaki Bobokhidze pouring water on members of the Russian delegation in the parliament of Georgia on June 20. (RFE/RL) TBILISI, DFWatch--Members of the separatist parliament in Sokhumi are demanding criminal action against Georgian [...]
Populist rulers across the globe increasingly navigate towards Kremlin: Hans Binnendjik
Hans Binnendjik (VoA). The NATO was founded in April of 1949 by Washington treaty, and at a time aimed to prevent Soviet aggression in Europe. In 21st century, the NATO’s role and agenda [...]
Europe and Georgia
PACE to discuss dismissing its president in October
PACE President Pedro Agramunt. (Council of Europe.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will discuss a proposal to dismiss its chairperson in early October after a motion was tabled on Friday. The motion to dismiss PACE President Pedro Agramunt was backed by 158 out of the 636 member […]
Opinion
Minorities
Groups say 25-year old’s fatal stabbing in Tbilisi was motivated by xenophobia
Vitali Safarov (Facebook). TBILISI, DFWatch--A young human rights activist who was stabbed to death in Tbilisi nearly two weeks ago was murdered by members of a neo-Nazi group, Georgian civic activists say. Vitali [...]
NGO News
Independent lawyers in Georgia urge parliament to condemn “clan-based” governance in judiciary
High Council of Justice. (hcoj.gov.ge) A group of independent lawyers and legal experts has submitted a draft resolution in the parliament of Georgia in which they ask for [...]
Georgian civic groups suspect government is behind smear campaign on Facebook
Eka Gigauri. (Facebook.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Georgia's largest NGOs suspect that the government is masterminding a smear campaign against them using internet trolls. "These dull caricatures with their Facebook pages [...]
NGO coalition in Georgia proposes new procedure for selecting chief prosecutor
DFWatch Editor-in-Chief Lasha Tughushi is one of the authors of the bill. Behind him, co-author Natia Kuprashvili. TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s largest NGO coalition proposes an overhaul of the existing system for selecting a chief prosecutor in order to minimize the risk that one party takes the decision unilaterally. The proposed bill comes in the wake of a two-week-long series of rallies in Tbilisi […]