The perpetrators of deadly shooting in Sokhumi center are still at large despite efforts by the regime law enforcers who have blocked almost all roads and checkpoints in Georgia’s breakaway republic of Abkhazia. At the same time, the de facto officials reveal the identity and possible motives of the crime. Two men, both 38 years … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–37 people were detained in Tbilisi on Monday after riot police dispersed a group of opposition activists blocking the parliament to protest its failure to amend the electoral law. Four people, including two police officers, have sustained injuries, the police said. The police and protesters clashed at the entrance of parliament after the latter … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Thousands of people rallied onTbilisi’s Rustaveli Ave on Thursday, after parliament failed to adopt a bill to use a proportional system during the 2020 general elections. The switch to proportional system, a long-standing demand by almost the entire opposition spectrum, was a promise by the ruling Georgian Dream party in the wake of “Gavrilov Night” protests … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–A session of the Holy Synod in Tbilisi has shocked the entire nation, as one of its members accused the spiritual leader and most popular person in the country, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, of “pederasty”. The accusation was so obscene and sudden that the dozens of journalists awaiting the results of the meeting outside of … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–In Georgia, the government is embroiled in a scandal involving the Orthodox Church, after a bishop claimed the government tried to depose the highly respected Patriarch Ilia II. Iakob, Archbishop of Bodbe Diocese, made the incendiary claim during an appearance on Pirveli TV on Saturday. During the interview, the bishop, who is reportedly a … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Tbilisi City Court on Friday began hearing a high-profile criminal case against the founders of Georgia’s biggest private bank. The Prosecutor’s Office accuses Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze of money laundering. The two pleaded not guilty and accused the government and Bidzina Ivanishvili personally of engaging in political persecution. The charges against Khazaradze and … Read more
De facto president Raul Khajimba has re-appointed Valeri Bganba, former Komsomol activist, as a “prime minister” of breakaway Abkhazia. Bganba was first appointed at the office in September 18, 2018, after his predecessor, Genadi Gagulia, was killed in a car accident on the road connecting Sokhumi with Russia’s Sochi when he was returning from his … Read more
GALI, DFWatch–Sokhumi has brought in new restrictions on the administrative borderline between breakaway Abkhazia and Georgia proper, affecting many businesses in the area. Crossing north-south across the Enguri Bridge is essential to many in the area, who rely on trade in products such as hazelnuts. But despite the new restrictions, anyone who pays money can … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia extradited an ethnic Chechen to Russia on Thursday, despite strong opposition to the move. Russia accuses 39-year-old Ramzan Akhyadov, who has lived in Georgia for the last two years, of having ties to the terror group ISIS. Minister of Justice Tea Tsulukiani said Friday that Georgia received “written assurances” from Russia that Akhyadov … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–The Supreme Court in Abkhazia on Friday rejected a lawsuit filed by presidential candidate Alhaz Kvitsinia, seeking to annul the results of the runoff elections and call a new election. Although Kvitsinia’s team will appeal the ruling, it is already clear that Kremlin-backed Raul Khajimba, a former KGB operative, has won the election. In … Read more