Saturday, May 30, 2026

Two drug arrests of UNM-linked youth raise calls of politicized justice

khatia_dekanoidze
Khatia Dekanoidze as head of Ukraine’s national police.

TBILISI, DFWatch–Two young men related to government critics were arrested in Tbilisi on Tuesday on drug charges. Their mothers think it was politically motivated.

One of the detainees is the son of Khatia Dekanoidze, a justice specialist who introduced Georgian experience with police reforms to Ukraine

Read more

Rioters will be strictly punished, Georgia's interior minister warns

Clean up work after Batumi riot
Clean up work after a riot Saturday night and Sunday morning in Batumi. (Interpressnews.)
Those responsible will be strictly punished, Interior Minister Giorgi Mgebrishvili warned.
Those responsible will be strictly punished, Interior Minister Giorgi Mgebrishvili warned. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Most who were detained in a riot in Batumi, Georgia have now been released, but the interior minister warned that they will be strictly punished.

Seven people are still incarcerated after a court placed them in preliminary administrative detention,

Read more

Government and opposition trade accusations over Batumi riot

kvirikashvili-pataradze-ermapovi
From left to right: Batumi Mayor Giorgi Ermakov, PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili and head of the Adjara government Zurab Pataradze in Batumi on Sunday. (Interpressnews).
police_car_riot
(Batumelebi.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–The government and the largest opposition party in Georgia are blaming each other for being behind a riot that shook the Black Sea resort city Batumi last night, injuring dozens and leaving the burgeoning tourist destination in disarray.

A special unit

Read more

PM Kvirikashvili blames ‘destructive political forces' for Batumi riot

burning_car_batumi
Sporadic rioting continued into the night in Batumi, a port city on Georgia’s Black Sea coast. (Batumelebi.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–“A common incident has been utilized by destructive political forces to escalate the situation,” Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili stated at an emergency briefing at about 5 am on Sunday appealing the crowd in Batumi to calm down.

“Unfortunately, those forces

Read more

Prosecutors release secret videos in the Georgia’s church poisoning case

jajri-tsiklauri
Prosecutor Jarji Tsiklauri at the briefing. (POG.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia on Wednesday presented its theory of how a priest allegedly was planning to murder an adviser to Patriarch Ilia II, backing the allegations up by secretly obtained videos.

The central part of the evidence

Read more

Leaders of Georgia's Orthodox Church gather to discuss poisoning plot

synodTBILISI, DFWatch–When top clerics within the Georgian Orthodox Church gather for a Holy Synod on March 9, there are several difficult problems on their agenda, notably a priest accused of planning to murder someone in the patriarch’s inner circle.

petre_tsaava
Petre Tsaava, the Metropolitan of Chkondidi, has spoken about corruption in the Church in a series of TV appearances. (2030.news)

The Synod is the highest authority

Read more

Detained Georgian priest curses prosecutors and law enforcers

Jarji_Tsiklauri
Jarji Tsiklauri, spokesperson for the Prosecutor General’s Office. (Palitra.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Prosecutors in Georgia are still unable to interrogate archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze who is accused of murder attempt of an unidentified person from patriarch’s inner circle.

“Instead of responding to our critical questions, he cursed us,

Read more