TBILISI, November 26 – Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze spent Wednesday answering sharp questions in parliament over the huge Eagle Hills real estate project, describing it as a win for Tbilisi’s green spaces while critics kept warning about secrecy and political risk. The debate comes after weeks of controversy around the UAE-linked developer’s plans in Tbilisi’s … Read more
TBILISI, November 22 – Georgia’s ruling party says it is preparing the ground for a “healthier” political landscape after the Constitutional Court reviews a request to ban three of the country’s leading opposition parties. But critics are sounding the alarm, warning that the move looks more like an effort to clear the field for Georgian … Read more
TBILISI, November 21 – With one week to go before Georgia’s opposition stages a major rally on November 28, political groups, civil society figures and imprisoned activists are laying out their expectations for the next chapter in the country’s turbulent politics. The date November 28 was chosen, because on that day last year, Prime Minister … Read more
TBILISI, November 20 – Anti-government demonstrators again gathered on Rustaveli Avenue Thursday night demanding snap parliamentary elections and the release of people detained during previous rallies. Police deployed cordons around the legislature to prevent protesters from blocking the capital’s main traffic artery, a tactic that has led to repeated confrontations in recent months. With Rustaveli … Read more
TBILISI, November 20 – Tbilisi’s City Court has sentenced former Georgian defense minister Irakli Okruashvili to seven years in prison over a controversial 2004 police killing that shook the country during the early days of the Saakashvili administration. In the same ruling Wednesday, the court decided that ex-chief prosecutor Zurab Adeishvili, accused in the same … Read more
TBILISI, November 17 – Protesters in Tbilisi have shifted tactics after weeks of standoffs with police on Rustaveli Avenue, moving their demonstrations off the roadway and into long evening marches along downtown sidewalks. The change follows days of pressure from police, who repeatedly blocked attempts to obstruct traffic and warned participants that repeat offences could … Read more
TBILISI, November 17 – Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party on Monday dismissed renewed opposition talk of forming a “technical government”, while former president Salome Zourabichvili accused the authorities of dragging the country toward isolation. The clash began when Georgian Dream MP Tengiz Sharmanashvili ridiculed opposition calls for a temporary, non-partisan cabinet to oversee a political … Read more
TBILISI, November 14 – German ambassador Peter Fischer on Thursday joined an anti-government protest in Tbilisi, drawing sharp criticism from Georgia’s ruling party, which accused Fischer of breaching diplomatic protocol and insulting the country’s institutions. Fischer, who had only recently returned to Georgia following consultations in Berlin, was seen mingling with protesters on Rustaveli Avenue, … Read more
TBILISI, November 13 – Georgia’s former president Mikheil Saakashvili has been moved out of a private clinic and back into Rustavi prison in a late night transfer which caused political controversy. The penitentiary service and the Ministry of Health say Saakashvili no longer needs hospital care. Saakashvili, his lawyers, and his family insist that he … Read more
TBILISI, November 13 – As Georgia’s ruling party insists that no genuine protest movement exists in the country, claiming only small foreign-funded groups gather on Rustaveli Avenue each evening, analysts and opposition figures are debating whether the public mood could soon shift toward wider unrest. Over a year has passed sine a disputed election triggered … Read more