Monday, August 11, 2025
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DFWatch staff

Activist must stay in jail, after forced psychiatric test

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TBILISI, August 8 – Georgian activist Nino Datashvili will stay in jail while awaiting trial, after a court decision this week upheld her detention. She is accused of attacking a parliamentary security officer during a protest, a charge she denies. Datashvili recently underwent a psychiatric evaluation ordered by prosecutors. It was carried out inside a … Read more

Georgia detains three persons for operating illegal crypto platform

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TBILISI, August 7 – Authorities in Georgia have arrested three senior managers of a virtual asset service provider accused of operating illegally without mandatory registration. The arrests were announced by the country’s Investigative Service under the Ministry of Finance. According to investigators, the company in question operated through online platforms, mobile applications, and physical offices … Read more

‘Release her NOW!’ Global reactions to editor’s two-year sentence

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The sentencing of Georgian journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli to two years in prison has sparked a wave of international condemnation, with diplomats, rights groups, and officials describing the ruling as a blow to media freedom in Georgia. Amaghlobeli, editor of independent newspapers Batumelebi and Netgazeti, was convicted yesterday of slapping a police chief during a protest … Read more

Former Georgian security official freed after serving 12 year sentence

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TBILISI, August 7 – Roman Shamatava, a former senior security official in Georgia’s now-disbanded Constitutional Security Department (CSD) – locally known as “Kudi” – has been released from prison after completing a 12-year sentence for murder. Shamatava had been convicted in connection with the 2008 disappearances and killings of two men: Davit Tsindeliani, a forest … Read more

Soaring food prices offsetting benefits of growth for most Georgians

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TBILISI, August 6 – The International Monetary Fund expects Georgia’s economy to grow by 6% in 2025. However, many fear that inflation, particularly in food, may take away much of the potential benefit for the wider population. Inflation in Georgia rose to 4.3% year-on-year in July, the highest level recorded since May 2023, driven primarily … Read more

Protesters gather in Tbilisi after editor sentenced to two years

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TBILISI, August 6 – Supporters of Georgian newspaper editor Mzia Amaghlobeli took to the streets of Tbilisi on Wednesday evening, marching from the Philharmonic concert hall to the central Rustaveli Avenue under the banner “Freedom for Mzia, freedom for political prisoners.“ The demonstration followed a Batumi court’s decision earlier in the day to sentence Amaghlobeli … Read more

Georgia activist doctor acquitted in high profile case seen as politically motivated

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TBILISI, August 6 – A Georgian doctor accused of serious drug offenses was acquitted on Wednesday in a case widely described by opposition figures and rights groups as politically motivated. Giorgi Akhobadze was arrested last December after attending an opposition protest in central Tbilisi and later charged with illegal possession of a large quantity of … Read more

Georgian editor sentenced to two years in jail

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TBILISI, August 6 – A court in the Georgian city of Batumi has sentenced journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli to two years in prison, in a case that has drawn sharp criticism from opposition groups and rights advocates. Amaghlobeli, founder of the independent outlet Batumelebi, was initially charged with attacking a police official during a January protest. … Read more