DFWatch staff 
TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian breakaway region Abkhazia is holding elections for de facto president on Sunday. Ten candidates are vying for the seat, but none of them stand much of a chance against the incumbent Raul Khajimba, a former KGB operative and close ally of the Kremlin. Aslan Bzhania, a former candidate proposed by a group … Read more
Georgia signs a deal with Irish lowcoster Ryanair, which will launch flights to various destinations from Tbilisi and later from Kutaisi airports, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development says. Tickets for a new route between Tbilisi and Milan Bergamo are already on sale on the carrier’s website. Flights start on November 6 and will … Read more
The de facto authorities of South Ossetia have released eight Georgian citizens detained on the occupation line. All of them are already in the territory controlled by Georgia’s central authorities. They were handed over to Georgian officials at the abandoned checkpoint in the village of Ergneti, near Tskhinvali on Tuesday. Seven men were detained on … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–A day after Rustavi 2’s new owner laid out his plans to revamp Georgia’s biggest opposition TV company, the newly appointed director sacks several of its key journalists. The list outlined on Tuesday by Paata Salia, Rustavi 2’s new director, includes the head of its news division Nodar Melia, and news anchor Giorgi Gabunia, … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–The new owner of Rustavi 2 is not planning to sell his shares. Instead, Kibar Shalvashi plans to develop Georgia’s largest opposition TV channel as a “critical and rigorous” outlet. “I consider it my primary duty to put television freed from Saakashvili into public service and regain confidence, to be critical and rigorous, but … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–At least two families in Georgia were forced to leave their homes in a village near the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict line on Thursday. The families left after Russian troops approached them and asked them to vacate their homes within 72 hours. The village of Gugutiantkari belongs to Gori Municipality and is located 32 km … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Two women from Belarus have died and one survived with injures in an hiking accident in Svaneti, on the slopes of Mount Tetnuldi, a 4,858m high peak in the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range. The three tourists, aged between 36 and 60, departed from a larger group en route to the camp and disappeared on … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Tbilisi City Court has placed Nika Gvaramia under GEL 40,000 bail in a controversial corruption trial that the opposition calls politically motivated. Initially, the Prosecutor’s Office wanted even stricter bail conditions: GEL 80,000 bail and banning the former head of Rustavi 2 from leaving the country. Gvaramia claims the case is politically motivated and … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Members and supporters of Georgia’s current and previous governments traded accusations on the 11th anniversary of the war between Russia and Georgia. Members of the incumbent government once again blamed the previous government and personally former President Mikheil Saakashvili of irresponsible actions which brought Russian troops on Georgian soil. United National Movement (UNM) and … Read more
On the eve of 11th anniversary of Russo-Georgian War of 2008, the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia issues the statement saying that fundamental human rights of the conflict-affected population continue to be violated and Russia keeps on violating the ceasefire agreement by maintaining and even increasing its military presence in the region. “Eleven … Read more