DFWatch staff 
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
TBILISI, August 6 – Residents of an apartment block in Gori, a town in central Georgia, discovered the body of an unidentified young man in their stairwell on Tsabadze Street. Locals say they did not recognize him, suggesting he may not be from the immediate area. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has launched an investigation … Read more
TBILISI, August 6 – Retracting an earlier demand, Sweden’s Jessica Rosencrantz said while EU treaties guarantee full legal protection for all minorities, including LGBT people, candidate countries such as Georgia are not required to legalize gay marriage in their national laws. Rosencrantz, who is minister for EU affairs, corrected remarks by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf … Read more
TBILISI, August 6 – An opposition party in Georgia says its bank account has been seized, in what it claims is political retaliation linked to the scandal surrounding Germany’s ambassador. Lelo party secretary general Irakli Kupradze said the National Bureau of Enforcement, under the Ministry of Justice, had notified the party of the freeze. He … Read more