Monday, June 22, 2026

DFWatch staff

Exit polls differ wildly after Georgia's presidential election, opposition preparing protest to 'defend votes'

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TBILISI, DFWatch–Exit poll after Georgia’s presidential election on Sunday show dramatically different results and all sides are bracing for a long and fierce standoff to ‘defend votes’. The situation is tense in Tbilisi and the opposition is even talking about launching a wave of protest rallies if the government ‘rigs the results’. Three companies have … Read more

Georgians go to the polls to elect a president for the last time

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TBILISI, DFWatch–On Sunday, Georgians go to the polls for the last time to elect a president. Even though the role of the president in recent years is largely ceremonial, the contest has turned into a fierce political showdown. Although the powers of the president have been gradually reduced since the split between Bidzina Ivanishvili, the … Read more

Tbilisi City Court holds second hearing in Igor Giorgadze's lawsuit against DFWatch

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TBILISI, DFWatch–Tbilisi City Court on Tuesday held its second hearing in a lawsuit filed by a former Georgian politician turned Kremlin ally against DFWatch for an article published in 2016. The claimant, Igor Giorgadze, served as Minister of State Security in 1993-1995, until he fled to Russia in the wake of the failed assassination attempt … Read more

Georgian, Ossetian athletes facilitated release of a woman from Tskhinvali jail

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Maia Otinashvili (Photo: Goga Aptsiauri, RFE/RL).

Several wrestlers and possibly other acting and retired athletes had played a key role in the release of 37 y/o Georgian woman from Tskhinvali prison, the family says, which was confirmed also by Georgia’s State Security Service (SUS).

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Illegal trade on rise due to dire economic situation, Gali residents say

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GALI, DFWatch – The loss of sources of income related to the spread of deadly brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), which has devastated locals’ orchards, urges residents of Gali to return to illegal business of smuggling goods, particularly cigarettes, from the breakaway Abkhazia to Georgia proper.

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Audio recording of ex-prosecutor details government corruption, sparks call for snap election

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TBILISI, DFWatch–A one and a half hour long secret audio recording aired by an opposition TV channel has caused an outcry in Georgia, two weeks ahead of the presidential election. The situation has gone so far that the opposition has started talking about snap elections for parliament. “In the first round [of the presidential elections] … Read more

Gali residents take up cigarette smuggling after failed harvest

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TBILISI, DFWatch–The spread of the deadly brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) has caused such devastation of orchards that locals have been forced to return to illegal businesses, such as smuggling of goods, particularly cigarettes, from breakaway Abkhazia to Georgia proper. This illegal trade was rife a decade and half ago but had been almost entirely … Read more

Groups say 25-year old's fatal stabbing in Tbilisi was motivated by xenophobia

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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 Safarov, a 25 year old employee of a Georgian non-governmental organization (NGO) advocating minority rights, was severely beaten and stabbed several times at a pub … Read more

37 y/o woman released by South Ossetia, says she was mistreated during apprehension

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TBILISI, DFWatch–A Georgian woman released Tuesday by Tskhinvali says he was physically abused when she was apprehended but was treated better during her 10 day long captivity. Maia Otinashvili, a 37 year old mother of three minors, was handed over to Georgian authorities at the village Ergneti after allegedly paying a 15,000 ruble (USD 227) … Read more