Georgia’s former ruling party expresses solidarity against the “political persecution” of its leader, Mikheil Saakashvili, who is under arrest in Kiev, Ukraine.
Saakashvili supporters in Georgia demand his release from Kiev prison
DFWatch staff
Catastrophic mandarin harvest deals heavy blow to Abkhazia's exports
TBILISI, DFWatch–Abkhazia’s export of mandarins and other produce has plummeted by 2.7 times, dealing a heavy blow to the breakaway republic’s economy.
Local media blame the bad harvest on the spread of brown marmorated stink bug, which has devastated crops also in Georgia.
Complex prisoner exchange between Georgia and breakaway territories
TBILISI, DFWatch–At the 42nd round of the Geneva talks, 12-13 December, Abkhazia will probably demand that Tbilisi must release an Abkhazian militant from a Georgian prison, and in return, Giorgi Giunashvili will be released from a Tskhinvali prison.
Gang fight at Tbilisi school leaves two 16 year old boys dead
TBILISI, DFWatch–Crowds gathered outside a school in the center of Tbilisi Sunday evening to pay tribute to two teenage boys who were brutally murdered by their peers two days earlier.
School students and teachers, as well as relatives of the victims,
Georgian authorities confirm Akhmed Chatayev died in Nov 22 Tbilisi siege
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s State Security Service (SUS) acknowledged Friday that one of the suspects killed in a counterterrorism operation Nov 22 was Akhmed Chatayev.
Local media have speculated that the Chechnya-born ISIS member was among the dead.
Georgia moves toward legalizing marijuana with Constitutional Court ruling
TBILISI, DFWatch–The Constitutional Court on Thursday struck down a law requiring a doctor’s prescription to use marijuana, scoring another victory for campaigners who want the soft drug fully decriminalized.
An individual’s right “to choose the desired kind of the relaxation […] including marijuana,
Mastermind of Ataturk Airport attack may be among 3 suspects killed in Tbilisi siege
TBILISI, DFWatch–One of the three terrorism suspects killed in a shootout with police on November 22 might be a Chechen who oversaw the Ataturk Airport bombings in 2016 which claimed 45 lives.
Vakhtang Gomelauri, head of the State Security Agency (SUS),
11 people dead in hotel fire in Batumi
TBILISI, DFWatch–11 people are confirmed dead, and an unknown number injured in a massive fire Friday night at a five-star hotel in Batumi which is hosting the Miss Georgia contest.
More than a hundred firefighters and other personnel scrambled to the Leogrand Hotel & Casino
Tskhinvali regime closes single checkpoint with Georgia proper for two days
De facto authorities of South Ossetia shut down the single checkpoint connecting the breakaway republic with Georgia proper due to the recently introduced public holiday,
One policeman, three suspects killed in Tbilisi anti-terror operation
TBILISI, DFWatch–Three suspects and one police officer have been killed in a massive anti-terror operation in a Tbilisi suburb against suspected Chechens.
Four police were also wounded in the standoff, which lasted over 20 hours, a spokesperson for the State Security Service of Georgia (SUS) said at a briefing Wednesday evening.