Friday, April 10, 2026

Georgia’s April 9 remembrance reveals deep political divide

TBILISI, April 9, Georgia’s annual memorial for the victims of the April 9, 1989 Soviet crackdown turned tense on Thursday, as mourning ceremonies outside parliament were repeatedly interrupted by shouting and scuffles. Citizens and activists spent the night at the April 9 memorial in central Tbilisi, where people gathered through the morning to honor the … Read more

Opposition seeks relief for Georgians hit with protest fines

TBILISI, April 8 – Georgia’s parliament is set to take up a bill that would wipe out fines and late-payment penalties imposed on people punished after recent rallies and demonstrations. The proposal was submitted by the opposition party For Georgia, led by former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, and is due to be discussed in first … Read more

IMF weighs in on Georgia’s price debate

TBILISI, April 7 – Georgia’s central bank chief backs parliament’s price probe as a way to enhance competition and transparency, while the IMF warns against sliding into blunt price controls. It started as a Christmas Eve video message by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, and developed into first a government commission and then a parliamentary one. … Read more

Tbilisi activist gets two days in jail for sidewalk protest

TBILISI, March 26 – A Tbilisi court on Thursday sentenced activist Mariam Madzgharashvili to two days of administrative detention for a protest on a sidewalk, as reported by Interpressnews. Tbilisi City Court found Madzgharashvili guilty of an administrative offense, a fast-track public order penalty system left over from the Soviet Union. Georgia’s political opposition has … Read more

Elisashvili to remain in prison as court hears abuse claims

TBILISI, March 9 – A Tbilisi court on Monday kept jailed opposition politician Aleko Elisashvili in custody, rejecting a bid to release him at a pretrial hearing in one of Georgia’s most closely watched criminal cases. The Tbilisi City Court judge decided that Elisashvili would remain in prison. Elisashvili, who heads the Citizens party and … Read more

Georgian opposition alliance joins forces with NGOs

TBILISI, March 7 – Georgia’s newly formed Opposition Alliance moved this week from launch mode into organization mode, holding meetings on protest strategy, non-recognition of the government’s legitimacy, and coordination with civil society groups. The alliance was announced last Sunday, March 2, by a group of opposition parties that said they had agreed on a … Read more

Georgia’s fractured opposition tries again with a new “alliance”

TBILISI, March 4 – A group of Georgian opposition parties announced a new political alliance on Monday, saying they have signed a joint document to coordinate their next steps in the country’s bitter political standoff. One of the alliance’s public faces, Nika Gvaramia, a leader of the Coalition for Change, told reporters after a meeting … Read more

Bacho Akhalaia among defendants as court hears Oct 4 appeals

TBILISI, February 18 – A Tbilisi court on Wednesday continued hearings in a series of high-profile cases linked to the violent events of October 4, 2025, when an anti-government rally clashed with police near the presidential residence in downtown Tbilisi. Among the defendants whose cases are being reviewed is former Minister of Defense Bacho Akhalaia, … Read more

Kavelashvili slams “European bureaucracy” for interference

TBILISI, February 17 – Georgia’s president Mikheil Kavelashvili on Tuesday took a tough line on internal security and what he described as foreign pressure, as he delivered his annual state of the nation address to parliament. In his speech, he criticized what he called interference from “European bureaucracy,” saying that since the start of the … Read more