Friday, January 16, 2026

Former Georgian defense minister remains detained in France

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Davit Kezerashvili was defense minister during the 2008 Russia-Georgia war. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–A court in France has confirmed the detention of former Georgian Defense Minister Davit Kezerashvili.

Kezerashvili is charged with abuse of powers while he was defense minister and was detained at Nice airport on October 15.

A court placed him in 40

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Saakashvili pardons former officials on eve of presidency

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President Mikheil Saakashvili. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–President Mikheil Saakashvili has pardoned 248 prisoners, 170 of whom had their sentence stricken from their criminal record.

56 had their sentence reduced to half, while 5 received a lighter sentence.

Among those pardoned are former government

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Bacho Akhalaia acquitted in abuse case

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Bacho Akhalaia was acquitted along with seven others for abuse of special unit employees. The prosecutor will appeal the ruling. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Tbilisi City Court found Bacho Akhalaia not guilty of abusing seven special unit employees, a case which has been under review for two months.

The former defense minister was on trial for mistreatment and torture for political reasons of seven special

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Interpol issues red alert for Georgia jihad video suspect

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Samar Chokutayev, the suspect in the jihad video case. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Interpol has issued a red alert in the search for Samar Chokutaev, the alleged perpetrator behind the so-called jihad videos against Georgian soldiers in Afghanistan.

The Prosecutor’s Office in Georgia sent documents to Interpol asking to launch

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Georgians detained in Italy for murder of Rus mafia boss

Aslan Usoyan
Aslan Usoyan, also known as Ded Hassan, was murdered in Moscow in January, 2013. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Police in Rome have detained three Georgians who are suspected of murdering the Russian mafia boss Ded Hassan in January, 2013.

76 year-old Aslan Usoyan, also known as Ded Hassan, or Grandpa Hassan, was shot in the head by a sniper when he was

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Report highlights some irregularities in Georgia's election

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Observers from six eastern European countries found minor irregularities in Georgia’s presidential election. (EILAT.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum Task Force (TF) gives Sunday’s election a positive evaluation, but also highlights several violations.

The task force consisted of seven observers from Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova, Ukraine and Poland,

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