TBILISI, July 31 – Georgia’s State Security Service (SSS) has arrested a senior opposition figure, Lasha Tsanava, on charges of immigration fraud. Tsanava, a political council member of the United National Movement (UNM), is accused of receiving money from a foreign citizen in return for promising to help secure a residence permit in Georgia. According … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–A senior Georgian Dream (GD) official has accused Lithuania’s political elite of behaving like Soviet bureaucrats, following the Baltic country’s decision to expand visa bans on Georgian officials. The latest visa restrictions adds ten more individuals to a growing list of Georgians barred from entering Lithuania, bringing the total to 112. In a public … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–One of the defendants in a trial of alleged group violence during recent protests has challenged the credibility of the prosecution’s evidence, questioning the authenticity of a video recording purportedly capturing his voice. During a court hearing, Vepkhia Kasradze questioned why no forensic analysis had been conducted to verify the authenticity of the audio. … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Georgia’s new ambassador to the United States, Tamar Taliashvili, at the White House on Friday. During the meeting, held in the Oval Office, Ambassador Taliashvili formally presented her credentials and conveyed a message from the Georgian government calling for a renewed chapter in … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–A fatal building collapse in central Tbilisi earlier this month has intensified debate over housing safety and city governance, just months before Georgia’s local elections in October. The opposition party Lelo for Georgia staged a protest on Thursday, spotlighting what it calls the city’s widespread neglect of deteriorating residential buildings. Standing in front of … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–A diplomatic and humanitarian standoff is developing at the Dariali border crossing between Georgia and Russia, where approximately 80 individuals are stranded in a neutral zone between the two countries. According to Ukrinform, a Ukrainian state news outlet, the group was “deported” by Russian authorities in what has been described as a form of … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s Prosecutor General’s Office on Wednesday questioned two former officials as part of an investigation into a 2019 border incident near Russian-controlled South Ossetia. The case centers on the deployment of a border detachment under Georgia’s State Security Service (SSSG), which reportedly entered the Chorchana area without proper coordination. A police checkpoint was established … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s Prosecutor General’s Office on Wednesday questioned two former officials as part of an investigation into a 2019 border incident near Russian-controlled South Ossetia. The case centers on the deployment of a border detachment under Georgia’s State Security Service (SSSG), which reportedly entered the Chorchana area without proper coordination. A police checkpoint was established … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–The former head of the government of Georgia’s autonomous Adjara region remains in a serious but stable condition after being hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the chest. Tornike Rizhvadze’s shooting has triggered a political firestorm in Georgia, with speculation centering on whether it was a suicide attempt. Meanwhile, authorities are awaiting forensic results … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has been summoned a second time to testify before Georgia’s parliamentary investigative commission. The commission is examining decisions surrounding the establishment of a Georgian police outpost near the village of Chorchana in 2019, close to the administrative boundary line with the Russian-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia. According to … Read more