TBILISI, October 11 – Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation has disputed the Georgian government’s account of talks that preceded its departure from the country, claiming it was never offered a chance to replace political projects with other programs. Stefan Reith, head of the foundation’s Europe and North America division, told Interpressnews that no discussions about alternative … Read more
TBILISI, October 4 – Germany’s ambassador says all four German political foundations operating in Georgia have been forced to suspend their activities, amid worsening relations between Tbilisi and Berlin. The foundations are the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, affiliated with Germany’s Christian Democratic Union; the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, linked to the Free Democratic Party; the Heinrich Böll … Read more
TBILISI, September 27 – Transparency International Georgia (TIG) says it will add jailed former president Mikheil Saakashvili to its list of political prisoners. The watchdog group announced its decision on Friday after reviewing case materials supplied by Saakashvili’s lawyer in July. The materials covered the so-called “jackets case”, his illegal border-crossing case and proceedings connected … Read more
TBILISI, August 3 – A coalition of Georgian civil society groups has accused the authorities of using hate speech laws to punish political criticism that does not call for violence or target protected groups. The Georgian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum said on Monday that citizens and journalists had in several … Read more
TBILISI, June 1 – Georgian authorities have charged two citizens with spying for foreign intelligence services in separate cases that the defendants’ lawyers say are baseless. Georgia’s State Security Service (SSG) announced the arrests on Saturday, while the Prosecutor’s Office charged the two the following day with espionage, under a clause of the criminal code … Read more
TBILISI, April 14 – The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, met non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Tbilisi on Tuesday, discussing protests, detainees and recent legal changes. Interpressnews reported that the commissioner met representatives of civic society, including Transparency International Georgia, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association and the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics. … Read more
TBILISI, April 7 – Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party has moved to amend the country’s law on grants once again, in the latest step in a broader tightening of rules around foreign funding of civil society. According to Interpressnews, lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) have submitted a new bill that would clarify which … Read more
TBILISI, March 5 – A collection of Georgian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) plan a protest march in Tbilisi on March 7, under the slogan “Strength in Unity”. The march will start at 7:00 PM from the Philharmonic Hall and end up outside the parliament building. Announcing the march, organizers emphasized the ongoing civil resistance against anti-Western … Read more
TBILISI, January 29 – Georgia’s ruling parliamentary majority has announced amendments to the country’s Law on Grants that would introduce criminal liability for receiving certain types of foreign funding without prior government approval. The changes were presented on Wednesday after a meeting of the parliamentary majority by its leader, Irakli Kirkhalia. Under the proposed amendments, … Read more
TBILISI, January 21 – A Georgian legal watchdog has filed a written position at the European human rights court in cases brought by Georgian soldiers and their families against Russia, linked to the 2008 war. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association said it submitted its arguments to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg on … Read more