DFWatch staff 
This is the second issue of Georgia Week, DFWatch’s weekly briefing with news, background, opinion and archive content. This week’s stories show a new development in Georgia’s political crisis. Several October 4 protest defendants are now being released or are expected to be released under plea agreements, partly meeting one of the opposition movement’s central … Read more
TBILISI, June 9 – The US House of Representatives has passed a bill requiring the Trump administration to assess Russian and Chinese intelligence activity in Georgia. The bill, H.R. 7668, is called the Countering China’s Control of the Caucasus Act, according to Interpressnews and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. It was introduced in Congress on February … Read more
TBILISI, June 9 – Seven people detained in Georgia’s “October 4” case were released from the courtroom on Tuesday after a judge approved plea agreements with prosecutors. The case concerns events near the Atoneli Palace, the presidential residence in central Tbilisi, on October 4. The release of detainees has been one of the main demands … Read more
TBILISI, June 9 — A 43-year-old Georgian immigrant has died while in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a detention facility in Louisiana, Anadolu reported Tuesday. The man was identified as Mamuka Artmeladze. According to ICE, he died on June 4 at the Winn Correctional Center. ICE told lawmakers that Artmeladze was … Read more
TBILISI, June 9 – More defendants in Georgia’s “October 4” case are expected to walk free after agreeing to plea deals with prosecutors. Releasing those detained at protests has been one of the main demands by Georgia’s opposition protesters since the parliamentary election in October, 2024. Interpressnews now reports that some could be released already … Read more
TBILISI, June 9 – A construction worker died in Kutaisi on Tuesday after falling from scaffolding during refurbishment work on a residential apartment block, Interpressnews reported. The accident happened on Shartava Street, in Georgia’s second-largest city. According to the news agency, the man fell from scaffolding installed at the third-floor level of a multi-storey residential … Read more
TBILISI, June 5 – A teenage schoolboy detained after a fatal stabbing in Rustavi says he was defending himself from an attempted sexual assault, according to claims by his family cited by Rezonansi. The first report, citing Info Rustavi, said a 16-year-old boy had been detained after a 40-year-old man was fatally wounded with a … Read more
TBILISI, June 5 – A kindergarten teacher in western Georgia was bitten by a snake after entering the yard of a preschool in the center of Ozurgeti, TV Pirveli reported. The incident happened a few days ago at a kindergarten located in central Ozurgeti, in front of the city’s second public school. According to the … Read more
TBILISI, June 5 – Eight more defendants in Georgia’s October 4 case are set to receive plea agreements, adding to an earlier group of seven defendants expected to be released under similar deals. The case concerns events near the Atoneli Palace, Georgia’s presidential residence in central Tbilisi, on October 4. Interpressnews reported Friday that the … Read more
TBILISI, June 5 – France has reportedly recalled two intelligence officers from Georgia, weeks after Tbilisi publicly warned partner countries not to run intelligence operations on Georgian soil. The report, first published by the French outlet Intelligence Online and cited by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Georgian Service, says the two officers were withdrawn from Georgia … Read more