DFWatch staff 
TBILISI, April 7 – Georgian authorities said Tuesday they had arrested 44 people in a nationwide operation targeting suspects linked to the country’s criminal underworld, with charges also set to be filed in absentia against six more. The announcement was made by Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze at a briefing, where he said one of … Read more
TBILISI, April 7 – A municipal employee in eastern Georgia has been arrested on suspicion of demanding and taking a bribe in exchange for signing off on procurement-related paperwork, Georgian investigators said Tuesday. The employee worked as a senior specialist in the supervision and technical division of the Gardabani municipal mayor’s office, according to Georgia’s … Read more
TBILISI, April 7 – Georgia may soon introduce a new visa category aimed at attracting wealthy foreign visitors, under a fast-tracked bill now moving through parliament. The proposed new permit, called the C5 ordinary visa, would be a multiple-entry short-term visa valid for five years, with the right to stay in Georgia for up to … Read more
TBILISI, April 7 – Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party has moved to amend the country’s law on grants once again, in the latest step in a broader tightening of rules around foreign funding of civil society. According to Interpressnews, lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) have submitted a new bill that would clarify which … Read more
TBILISI, March 28 – After the burial of Patriarch Ilia II last Sunday, debate in Georgia has shifted from national mourning to the question of who will eventually lead the country’s powerful Orthodox Church. The core official message so far is that the decision belongs to the Holy Synod, while church officials have also tried … Read more
TBILISI, March 28 – Georgian law enforcement authorities said Saturday they had arrested nine people on drug-related charges in a multi-region operation. According to the ministry, the arrests were carried out at different times by officers from the Central Criminal Police Department as well as police units in Adjara, Tbilisi, and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti. The ministry … Read more
TBILISI, March 28 – Georgian police have arrested a man in connection with a fatal assault in the mountainous Dusheti municipality, after what the Interior Ministry described as a domestic dispute turned deadly. The ministry said officers from the Mtskheta-Mtianeti Police Department’s Dusheti district division detained a 39 year old suspect on suspicion of intentional … Read more
TBILISI, March 26 – A Tbilisi court on Thursday sentenced activist Mariam Madzgharashvili to two days of administrative detention for a protest on a sidewalk, as reported by Interpressnews. Tbilisi City Court found Madzgharashvili guilty of an administrative offense, a fast-track public order penalty system left over from the Soviet Union. Georgia’s political opposition has … Read more
TBILISI, March 26 – A U.S. State Department envoy met with the Georgian opposition on Thursday, on a trip that also includes contacts with the government, the private sector and civil society groups. The visiting official was identified as Peter Andreoli, the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. According to Interpressnews, the … Read more
TBILISI, March 25 – Georgia’s Defense Ministry has submitted amendments to parliament that would tighten the rules for people leaving military contracts early, including automatic transfer into eight months of compulsory national service in many cases. According to Interpressnews, the proposed changes would be made to Georgia’s Defense Code and would affect several issues linked … Read more