Thursday, February 5, 2026

Two drug arrests of UNM-linked youth raise calls of politicized justice

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Khatia Dekanoidze as head of Ukraine’s national police.

TBILISI, DFWatch–Two young men related to government critics were arrested in Tbilisi on Tuesday on drug charges. Their mothers think it was politically motivated.

One of the detainees is the son of Khatia Dekanoidze, a justice specialist who introduced Georgian experience with police reforms to Ukraine

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Sen. McCain encourages Georgia to preserve pluralistic media

Georgian court’s decision regarding Rustavi 2 looks like ‘an attempt to silence opposition voices’, US Senator John McCain said to Voice of America’s Georgian service. “I am deeply concerned that the Georgian Supreme Court’s decision regarding Rustavi 2 appears to be an attempt to silence opposition voices in the press and curtail the country’s vibrant, … Read more

Rioters will be strictly punished, Georgia's interior minister warns

Clean up work after Batumi riot
Clean up work after a riot Saturday night and Sunday morning in Batumi. (Interpressnews.)
Those responsible will be strictly punished, Interior Minister Giorgi Mgebrishvili warned.
Those responsible will be strictly punished, Interior Minister Giorgi Mgebrishvili warned. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Most who were detained in a riot in Batumi, Georgia have now been released, but the interior minister warned that they will be strictly punished.

Seven people are still incarcerated after a court placed them in preliminary administrative detention,

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Government and opposition trade accusations over Batumi riot

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From left to right: Batumi Mayor Giorgi Ermakov, PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili and head of the Adjara government Zurab Pataradze in Batumi on Sunday. (Interpressnews).
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(Batumelebi.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–The government and the largest opposition party in Georgia are blaming each other for being behind a riot that shook the Black Sea resort city Batumi last night, injuring dozens and leaving the burgeoning tourist destination in disarray.

A special unit

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PM Kvirikashvili blames ‘destructive political forces' for Batumi riot

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Sporadic rioting continued into the night in Batumi, a port city on Georgia’s Black Sea coast. (Batumelebi.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–“A common incident has been utilized by destructive political forces to escalate the situation,” Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili stated at an emergency briefing at about 5 am on Sunday appealing the crowd in Batumi to calm down.

“Unfortunately, those forces

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Escalating rhetoric between Georgia's parliament and president

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Speaker of Parliament Irakli Kobakhidze. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–A meeting summoned by the Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili has become the latest episode in the downward spiral of deteriorating relations between him and the ruling Georgian Dream party.

On Thursday, Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze

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Prosecutors release secret videos in the Georgia’s church poisoning case

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Prosecutor Jarji Tsiklauri at the briefing. (POG.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia on Wednesday presented its theory of how a priest allegedly was planning to murder an adviser to Patriarch Ilia II, backing the allegations up by secretly obtained videos.

The central part of the evidence

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EU denies link between Georgia visa waiver and refugee centers proposal

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EU Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–A member of the European Unions executive branch denies that there is any connection between a proposal to host refugee centers in Georgia and the recent decision to allow visa-free travel to the Schengen area for Georgian passport holders.

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ECHR suspends Rustavi 2 takeover 'until further notice'

A letter by ICHR to Rustavi 2 lawyer published on facebook by Rustavi 2 director Nika Gvaramia
A letter by ICHR to Rustavi 2 lawyer published on Facebook by Rustavi 2 director Nika Gvaramia

TBILISI, DFWatch–The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday confirmed a decision by one of its judges to suspend a ruling by Georgia’s Supreme Court about changing the ownership of the opposition-leaning TV company Rustavi 2.

“A Chamber constituted from the Section

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