Prominent Georgian doctor says the country will overcome pandemic with minimal losses
Tengiz Tsertsvadze (TV Pirveli.) The peak of covid19 pandemic in Georgia will come in two or three weeks, a prominent medical doctor of infectious diseases said on Tuesday, adding that he predicts total number of cases at about 1,000. “Georgia will overcome this harshest challenge with minimal losses," said Dr. Tengiz Tsertsvadze, Director of the Infectious Diseases, AIDS and Clinical Immunology Research Center [...]
Additional flights designated to evacuate stranded Georgians, but much more still needed
Georgian Airways crew for emergency flight to Rome in March 10. (Facebook/GA.) Georgia designates additional emergency flights to evacuate its nationals from abroad due to covid19 pandemic. However, the demand is so high [...]
News
Full list of businesses permitted during quarantine
Army and police officers at the special checkpoint in western Georgia. (Facebook/MIA.) The government of Georgia on Tuesday released a list of 18 “economic directions”, which are permitted to keen on their activities [...]
Covid19 update: Georgia bans public gatherings, passenger traffic
Army checkpoint on Marneuli road. (MoD/Facebook.) Georgia introduces new measures to tackle covid19 spread inside the country as total number of cases reaches 61 with seven new cases reported on Monday. The decree [...]
Azerbaijan unexpectedly frees journalist who was secretly abducted in Tbilisi three years ago
Azerbaijan’s authorities released on Tuesday Afgan Mukhtarli, an investigative journalist convicted on falsified charges. The released was ordered by the court, his lawyer Neymat Karimli said. He immediately left the country and flew to Germany, [...]
Georgian government says “no threat of epidemic outbreak”
Health minister Ekaterine Tikaradze (Facebook). No new cases of coronavirus, except the one confirmed on Wednesday, have reported in Georgia so far, and public officials affirm citizens that situation is under control. “At [...]
Georgia ponders suspending flights to Iran fearing coronavirus pandemic
Amiran Gamkrelidze (Facebook). Georgia ponders suspending direct flights to Iran amid the growing fear of coronavirus outbreak in the country. The government of Georgia has been discussing the issue for two days, said [...]
Saakashvili government strongman release from prison, promised to topple “regime”
(IPN) “I ensure you this government will be finished in a year,” said Vano Merabishvili, former PM and ex-minister of interior, on Thursday after release from prison where he served almost seven years. [...]
Opposition rages in Georgia as Supreme Court sentences key politician to prison term
Gigi Ugulava at Labor Party office making statement upon hearing information about the judgment. (IPN) The political confrontation in Georgia hit another low point on Monday after the Supreme Court sentenced Giorgi "Gigi" [...]
Khajimba resigns, refuses to meet key Kremlin fixer
Raul Khajimba and Vladislav Surkov (right) at "presidential" office in Sokhumi. August 5, 2019. Embattled de facto president of breakaway Abkhazia Raul Khajimba had to file his resignation amid growing protests of opposition [...]
Mass unrest in Sokhumi: Khajimba flees his office, threatens to impose state of emergency
Opposition activists at the Khajimba's office. TBILISI, DFWatch--Raul Khajimba, de facto president of the Georgian breakaway region Abkhazia, threatens to impose a state of emergency after opposition activists stormed his office on Wednesday. [...]
Such campaigns against American NGOs are being run out of the Kremlin: IRI president
Daniel Twining (Twitter). “I am a little surprised to be talking about this in the context of Georgia, because such a campaign against American NGOs is being run out of the Kremlin […] [...]
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
Georgian NGOs call on government to immediately move toward proportional electoral system
Georgia’s major NGOs call upon the government to “fulfil the promise made to the public and move to a proportional electoral system”, which will be assumed as its readiness to [...]
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 [...]