Brief reports from agencies or ourselves
Putin’s man visits Batumi, triggers outrage
Tbilisi-DFWatch - The news that Shota Gorgadze, a member of Vladimir Putin’s presidential Human Rights Council, visited Batumi caused mass public outrage in Georgia. Gorgadze, who at the same time is the lawyer of the top Russian propagandist, Vladimir Solovyov, published a video on Instagram where he eats Adjarian khachapuri in one of the Batumi restaurants. [...]
Georgian government denies resuming regular traffic with Russian port, yet admitting two shipments in April
Tbilisi-DFWatch-The government of Georgia, which has been increasingly becoming the target of accusations of circumventing the sanctions imposed on Russia, had to make another denial on Monday. This time it has to repudiate information spread by Armenian media about the restoration of regular sea traffic with the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. The Maritime Transport [...]
Opinion poll shows soaring nihilism towards political class in Georgia
TBILISI, DFWatch-The growing dissatisfaction of the population towards the ruling party is not reflected in the increase in the popularity of opposition and rather indicates the electorate is dissatisfied with political class in general. This is indicated in a poll published on Wednesday by NDI and CRRC. The majority of the population of Georgia says that [...]
43rd Georgian died defending Ukraine against Russian aggression
Zurab Odishvili (Facebook). TBILISI, DFWatch – One more Georgian fighter, Zurab Odishvili, died in Ukraine. He is the 43rd Georgian who fell victim to Russia's large-scale aggression. The place and circumstances of Odishvili's death are unknown. According to the TV company Mtavari Arkhi, he may have died as a result of "chemical bombing". Lado Gamsakhurdia, Chairman of [...]
Situation surrounding Saakashvili can ruin Georgia’s EU aspirations, ambassadors say to GD government
The ambassadors of the EU member states warned the Georgian government at a meeting behind closed doors that the situation surrounding the former president Mikheil Saakashvili could put an end to Georgia's European aspirations, Tbilisi-based Russian-language news website Sova reports relying on its own sources. At Wednesday’s meeting with Justice Minister Rati Bregadze, the heads of [...]
24 y/o volunteer from Abkhazia, who was fighting on the Russian side, killed in Donbas of Ukraine
Body of Artur Kirkinadze, an Abkhazian volunteer who died in Donbas, brought to Sukhumi. September 12. (Photo by Sokhumi regime emergency service). The body of 24-year-old Beslan Tapagua was brought Wednesday from Krasnodar to Sokhumi by the emergency service of the separatist regime. There are no details on how Tapagua died. It is only known that [...]
Sukhumi regime complains Russian border guards mistreat Abkhaz MPs and ordinary citizens at the border
Border crossing "Psou". The Sukhumi regime complains to the Russian ambassador that citizens of the "Republic", including members of the de facto parliament, face problems from Russian officials when crossing the border. Abkhazia's de facto foreign minister Inal Ardzinba appealed to Mikhail Shurgalin, Russian ambassador to the self-proclaimed republic and complained that four MPs who were [...]
Body of 20th Georgian killed in Ukraine transported to Tbilisi
(1tv.ge) Members of Georgian volunteer units Saturday brought Tbilisi the body of 44-year-old Edisher Kvaratskhelia, who died in the fight against Russian aggressors in Ukraine. Kvaratskhelia is the 20th Georgian volunteer who died in the war. On October 10, he was killed by a Russian rocket attack near the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast of [...]
Russians’ influx jumped by 40-45 percent: MIA official
The flow of Russian citizens at Zemo Larsi customs checkpoint has increased by 40-45 percent; 5-6 thousand have been arriving daily in recent days, Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, said Thursday. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Security Service and other law enforcement agencies do everything to filter out those [...]
Ryanair enters Georgia, starts flights from Tbilisi
Georgia signs a deal with Irish lowcoster Ryanair, which will launch flights to various destinations from Tbilisi and later from Kutaisi airports, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development says. Tickets for a new route between Tbilisi and Milan Bergamo are already on sale on the carrier's website. Flights start on November 6 and will be [...]
Eight detained Georgians released by Tskhinvali regime
(IPN.) The de facto authorities of South Ossetia have released eight Georgian citizens detained on the occupation line. All of them are already in the territory controlled by Georgia’s central authorities. They were handed over to Georgian officials at the abandoned checkpoint in the village of Ergneti, near Tskhinvali on Tuesday. Seven men were [...]
Two disappeared tourists from Belarus found dead in Svaneti
Mount Tetnuldi seen from Mestia, the capital of Svaneti. (1tv.ge) TBILISI, DFWatch--Two women from Belarus have died and one survived with injures in an hiking accident in Svaneti, on the slopes of Mount Tetnuldi, a 4,858m high peak in the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range. The three tourists, aged between 36 and 60, departed from [...]
DOS statement on events surrounding Tbilisi Pride
"The United States will continue to urge Georgian authorities to protect all citizens regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity," US Department of State spokesperson has said commenting recent developments in Georgia relating to Tbilisi Pride. The text of short statement was provided by Voice of America's Georgian Service. "The United States is deeply concerned about [...]
A critic of Azerbaijan government detained in Georgia, face extradition
Avtandil Mammadov holding poster “Freedom to Afgan Mukhtarli” in Tbilisi’s Rustaveli Av. (Facebook) The police in Georgia detained Azerbaijan’s opposition activist Avtandil Mammadov on the request of Baku on Monday and he may face extradition to his home country. Mammadov was arrested in Marneuli, a town inhabited largely by ethnic Azerbaijanis, 35 km east [...]
Wizzair to add two Polish cities to new destinations out of Kutaisi
A Hungarian lowcoster Wizzair has increased the list of new destinations from Kutaisi scheduled to become operational by August to eight from the previous six. The new destinations are two Polish cities of Gdansk and Krakow. Earlier in February Wizzair announced it would add new regular flights to Basel, Copenhagen, Brussels, Tallinn, Eindhoven and Bari by [...]
Saakashvili supporters in Georgia demand his release from Kiev prison
Nika Melia, the head of UNM ruling body, surrounded by party members, reads the address at Saturday briefing. Georgia’s former ruling party expresses solidarity against the “political persecution” of its leader, Mikheil Saakashvili, who is under arrest in Kiev, Ukraine. […]
State Department: US is concerned by the impact of Supreme Court decision in Rustavi 2 case
"The United States is concerned by the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision regarding Rustavi 2, which could limit the access of opposition voices to Georgian broadcast media. A pluralistic media environment is essential for Georgia’s democratic growth and Euro-Atlantic aspirations. We urge the Georgian government to take steps to ensure that the media environment remains free, open, [...]
Prosecution requests bail for Kortskheli violence suspects
Chief Prosecutor Irakli Shotatdze Tbilisi, DFWatch - Prosecution wouldn’t request pre-trial detention for the athletes involved in Kortskheli violence, Irakli Shotadze, Chief Prosecutor, said to journalists on Thursday. Instead, the Prosecutor’s Office would request a bail for six martial artists, charged with beating of opposition politicians and their supporters in Kortskeli, a village in [...]
Shishani ‘clinically dead’: Syrian monitor
Tarkhan Batirashvili, Abu Omar Shishani TBILISI, DFWatch–According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Islamic State’s field commander Tarkhan Batirashvili, mostly known under his nom de guerre Abu Omar Shishani, has been ‘clinically dead’ for several days, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported. […]