DFWatch staff 
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
TBILISI, August 6 – Five Ukrainian nationals who are stranded at the Dariali border crossing have launched a hunger strike, claiming they were denied entry and held in inhumane conditions by Georgian border guards. One of the group, Sergei Larko, told Ekho kavkaza that he has been stuck at the crossing for nearly a month, … Read more
TBILISI, August 6 – A protest march under the slogan “Don’t You Dare!” made its way from Tbilisi’s Philharmonic Hall to the national parliament on Monday, as supporters rallied for detained journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli and activist Nino Datashvili. Organized primarily by women, the demonstration featured banners warning against what participants described as the return of … Read more
TBILISI, August 5 – Georgia’s parliament is preparing to release a 430-page investigative report in early September, just weeks ahead of local elections, which could serve as a pretext for banning the largest opposition party. The document, compiled over six months by a special parliamentary commission led by Tea Tsulukiani, probed alleged abuses carried out … Read more
TBILISI, August 5 – Georgia’s Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday evening sharply criticized the landlord of German Ambassador Peter Fischer over tax irregularities—fueling ongoing political controversy involving the high-profile diplomat. The comments marked another escalation in the Georgian Dream (GD) government’s public campaign against Ambassador Fischer, whom senior officials accuse of sympathizing with opposition … Read more
TBILISI, August 5 – Founders of two leading private schools in Georgia have escalated a legal dispute with an investor, accusing him and his associates of serious misconduct and calling for a criminal investigation. According to founders Natia Janashia and Davit Tsetskhladze, both the British-Georgian Academy and Tbilisi British International School are at risk of … Read more
TBILISI, August 5 – Georgian authorities have deported 22 foreign nationals from 11 countries, citing violations of immigration law. The Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that the deportations followed a series of “complex operations” carried out in recent days across the country. Those deported include citizens of Iraq, Russia, Iran, India, Turkey, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Jordan, … Read more