DFWatch staff 
TBILISI, December 19 – A leading figure in Georgia’s opposition “Coalition for Change,” Zurab Japaridze, was released from Rustavi No. 12 penitentiary on Friday, December 19, after serving a seven month sentence. Japaridze was arrested on May 22 inside a courtroom. He had been summoned to appear before a temporary parliamentary investigative commission to give … Read more
TBILISI, December 18 – Volunteers from Georgian Christian Baptist Churches paid a friendship visit on Thursday to the Saint Queen Tamar Art School, which operates under the Georgian Patriarchate in Tbilisi. According to the State Agency for Religious Affairs, which also took part in the event, the visitors delivered humanitarian assistance to the school’s students … Read more
TBILISI, December 18 – Georgian prosecutors on Thursday, December 18, leaned on a long, continuous video recording as a key piece of evidence in court proceedings tied to the events of October 4 in Tbilisi. In the October 4 case, prosecutor Tamar Bezhuashvili said the state has reviewed an “approximately 8-hour continuous video” that, she … Read more
TBILISI, December 18 – Georgia’s President Mikheil Kavelashvili met Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade on Thursday. The two sides talked about closer cooperation and prepared for upcoming talks on trade and economy. Kavelashvili’s press service said the leaders discussed deepening ties in political, economic, technological and cultural areas during a one-on-one meeting at the … Read more
TBILISI, December 18 – Georgia’s government is negotiating with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) over new financing for the country’s logistics and railway sector. On December 17, Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili and Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili met in Tbilisi with World Bank South Caucasus Regional Director Rolande Pryce and Anders Pettersson, … Read more
TBILISI, December 18 – Protests resumed Wednesday evening on Rustaveli Avenue in central Tbilisi, despite verbal warnings by police the day before to adhere to new, stricter rules for public assemblies. The rally marked the 385th consecutive day of protest near parliament, with demonstrators again demanding new parliamentary elections and the release of people detained … Read more
TBILISI, December 17 – Georgia’s ruling party has sharply rejected a new European Union document that says the country’s accession process has effectively stalled. Opposition figures argue the assessment reflects political reality on the ground. The conclusions were adopted on December 16 after a meeting of the EU Council on enlargement, chaired by Denmark. The … Read more
TBILISI, December 16 – Georgia’s parliament has voted to extend the operation of a duty free shop located outside the country’s border zone, keeping it open until January 1, 2028. Non-border duty free outlets were supposed to phased out on January 1, 2026, but lawmakers approved the extension as part of amendments to the Customs … Read more
TBILISI, December 16 – The European Parliament used its top human rights award ceremony on Tuesday to honor newspaper founder Mzia Amaghlobeli and her Belarusian colleague Andrzej Poczobut. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said Amaghlobeli and Poczobut embody courage, as she spoke during the Sakharov Prize award event in Strasbourg. Metsola said the Parliament would … Read more
TBILISI, December 16 – Tbilisi residents can now use a city-run service to remove bulky household waste, but it comes at a price, BPN reports. Until February this year, getting rid of construction debris, old furniture, green waste or other large household items was not handled by the city’s cleaning service. Residents had to hire … Read more