DFWatch staff 
TBILISI, November 11 – A Turkish military cargo aircraft crashed in eastern Georgia on Tuesday morning, close to the border with Azerbaijan, according to officials in Tbilisi and Ankara. Georgia’s Interior Ministry confirmed that the plane, a Turkish Air Force C-130 Hercules, went down roughly five kilometers inside Georgian territory in the Sighnaghi municipality. The … Read more
TBILISI, November 11 – Georgia’s jailed opposition activist and opera singer Paata Burchuladze has accused former president Salome Zourabichvili of making a “shameful” statement about the October 4 events in Tbilisi, which she described as a Russian special operation. Speaking through his lawyer, Burchuladze said Zourabichvili should have exercised restraint and avoided making comments that … Read more
TBILISI, November 11 – Prosecutors in Georgia have filed criminal charges against five people over the collapse of a major bridge that is part of the East-West corridor and one of the country’s largest infrastructure projects, BPN reports. Among those charged is former Deputy Head of the Roads Department Levan Kupatashvili, accused of abuse of … Read more
TBILISI, November 11 – Georgia’s government announced plans on Tuesday to reform how it buys goods and services, in what officials call a major step toward increasing transparency and limiting corruption risks in public spending, BM reports. The reform centers on a new electronic system for “market research,” the stage where government agencies estimate the … Read more
Georgia’s ruling party has filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court, asking it to outlaw three of the country’s main opposition parties. If the court agrees, it could leave hundreds of thousands of Georgians without a political alternative, and end what’s left of pluralism in the country’s politics, according to Sandro Baramidze, a representative of … Read more
TBILISI, November 10 – A delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) began meetings in Tbilisi on Monday as part of an observer mission to assess Georgia’s adherence to democratic and human rights obligations. The visit comes as the country’s domestic politics is shaken by a series of rough-handed measures by … Read more
TBILISI, November 9 – Anti-government protesters returned to Georgia’s parliament building late Sunday following a march through central Tbilisi that saw brief confrontations with police over access to the main avenue. Demonstrators, many chanting “No to Russia,” “Georgia, rise up,” and “Freedom for political prisoners,” demanded new parliamentary elections and the release of people detained … Read more
TBILISI, November 9 – Georgia’s parliamentary speaker Shalva Papuashvili has accused Brussels of deliberately halting the country’s EU membership process months before Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s controversial statements about freezing accession talks. Speaking to Georgian journalists on Sunday, Papuashvili said the European Union made the decision after Tbilisi demanded transparency about how EU funds were … Read more
TBILISI, November 8 – Protesters gathered outside Georgia’s parliament Friday for another night of anti-government demonstrations, over a year since the disputed parliamentary elections. Police blocked both sides of Rustaveli Avenue, forming tight cordons to prevent marchers from spilling onto the main road. Chanting “Down with the Russian regime” and “Slaves, slaves,” demonstrators circled the … Read more
TBILISI, November 8 – Brussels on Friday accused the Georgian government of spreading disinformation after a leaked letter from the European Union’s ambassador to Tbilisi appeared to confirm that Georgia’s participation in several EU-funded programs had been suspended before Tbilisi paused accession talks. Speaking Friday at a press briefing in Brussels, Anita Hipper, the European … Read more