DFWatch staff 
TBILISI, October 20 – Abkhazia has started shipping its new tangerine crop to Russia, marking the opening of this year’s citrus export season, according to Marina Zhupanova, spokesperson for the Sochi customs office, who spoke to Interfax on Monday. Zhupanova said that the “tangerine season has opened on the Russia–Abkhazia border,” and that the first … Read more
TBILISI, October 20 – The opposition party For Georgia (“sakartvelostvis”) said on Monday it will end its year-long boycott of the legislature, switching sides among a deeply divided opposition. With party founder Giorgi Gakharia currently in exile, the dramatic switchover was announced at a press briefing by a deputy leader, Giorgi Sharashidze, and means the … Read more
TBILISI, October 20 – Georgia’s government has rolled out a sweeping plan to remodel universities, with fewer duplicate faculties, bigger paychecks for top professors, a shorter degree path, and a new campus map that puts Kutaisi alongside Tbilisi as an education hub. The proposals, presented late last week, triggered instant pushback from opposition figures, academics, … Read more
TBILISI, October 19 – Georgia’s Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili told an international gathering of finance officials on Sunday that the country has managed to sustain solid economic growth despite global geopolitical turbulence, positioning itself as a reliable bridge between East and West. Speaking at a joint meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from … Read more
TBILISI, October 19 – A Tbilisi court on Sunday sentenced journalist and TV anchor Vakho Sanaia to six days in administrative detention after finding him guilty of violating Georgia’s law on public assemblies. Judge Manuchar Tsatsua ruled that Sanaia, a prominent presenter on opposition-leaning broadcaster Formula TV, was guilty of blocking traffic during a protest … Read more
TBILISI, October 19 – A well-known Georgian journalist and TV anchor, Vakho Sanaia, was detained by police in central Tbilisi on Sunday, his employer Formula TV reported. A Video circulating on social media showed Sanaia entering a police car, with bystanders filming. Formula said the journalist was detained for allegedly blocking Rustaveli Avenue, where opposition … Read more
TBILISI, October 19 – A senior Georgian Orthodox bishop has publicly criticized the government’s handling of the recent nationwide searches targeting former high-ranking officials, comparing the approach to the methods used by the Bolsheviks in the early 20th century. In a post published Saturday on social media, Metropolitan Anton of Vani and Baghdati said he … Read more
TBILISI, October 18 – Georgia’s political scene was thrown into turmoil on Friday after law enforcement agencies carried out simultaneous searches at 22 locations across the country, including the homes of former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, former State Security Service head Grigol Liluashvili, and former Chief Prosecutor Otar Partskhaladze. According to the Ministry of Internal … Read more
TBILISI, October 18 – Five people detained during the October 4 protest in Tbilisi appeared before court Saturday, rejecting charges of participating in group violence and, in one case, attempting to seize a strategic facility, offenses that carry prison terms of up to six years. At the hearing, defendant Mariam Meqantishvili broke down in tears … Read more
TBILISI, October 17 – In the first three quarters of 2025, the government of Georgia granted refugee status to 11 foreigners, and humanitarian status to 20 others, according to data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Most of those receiving status came from Ukraine or Turkey. Under the refugee regime, seven Turkish citizens, one Russian … Read more