Friday, February 13, 2026

Ivanishvili on collision course with the U.S. on role of NGOs

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Bidzina Ivanishvili is preparing a report about three NGO activists. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–The godfather of the government in Georgia, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, was rebuked by the US ambassador Thursday after criticizing three of the most influential NGO leaders in the country.

In a long TV interview on one of the national TV

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Georgian PM criticizes NGOs for being biased

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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili on Monday criticized non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for not being objective.

He said during a meeting with students that it is important for democracy to have a strong, objective and unbiased civil

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Observers say violations do not affect election outcome

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Kakha Kozhoridze, head of Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Independent observers in Georgia’s local election say the extent of violations seen so far is not enough to influence the final results.

Two hours before voting ended in Georgia’s local election on Sunday, non-governmental organizations had filed 71

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Campaign wants mobile operators to oversee surveillance

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Campaigners object to parliament postponing the ‘secret key’ issue. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–The ‘This Affects You Too’ campaign demands that parliament appoints a special session to review a package of amendments to better regulate secret surveillance and considers it ‘shameful’ that the assembly failed to reach a quorum last

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NGOs claim gov't delaying anti-surveillance bill till after election

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The campaign ‘This Affects You Too’ suspects that the government wants to delay a law to protect against illegal surveillance. (DF Watch.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Campaigners fighting to stop secret surveillance in Georgia are asking parliament to pass amendments to prohibit secret phone surveillance before the local election on June 15.

Non-governmental organizations in the ‘This Affects You Too’ campaign

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Georgian Orthodox Church opposed to anti-discrimination law

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Georgian Patriarch Ilia II. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian Orthodox Church is opposed to a draft anti-discrimination bill, which is currently making its way through parliament. Clerics there want to remove ‘sexual orientation’ from the text.

But human rights activists and Tbilisi-based NGOs

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Curbing of illegal surveillance delayed, campaigners say

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Kakha Kojoridze from Georgian Young Lawyer’s Association, one of the groups in the campaign. (Promotion video.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Campaigners in Georgia suspect law enforcement agencies are intentionally prolonging a legislative hearing about illegal wiretapping.

The campaign ‘This Affects You Too’, which includes several of the most influential NGOs in Tbilisi, was started

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Georgians switching off phones one hour to protest wiretapping

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Eka Gigauri. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–In Georgia, campaigners are asking people to switch off their mobile phones for one hour on Friday to protest illegal wiretapping.

The campaign ‘This Affects You Too – They Still Listen to Us’ envisages turning off mobile phones every Friday

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Campaign asks people to turn off mobile phones in protest

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Nino Lomjaria, head of International Society For Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED). (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Several Georgian NGOs that are involved in the campaign ‘This Affects You Too-They Still Listen to Us’ call on citizens to turn off their mobile phones for two hours and protest against the government’s illegal wiretapping.

Nino Lomjaria, head

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