TBILISI, January 2 – Georgia welcomed 2026 with the usual New Year sparkle, but also with the same political tension that has kept nightly protests going in central Tbilisi. On Wednesday evening, December 31, protesters remained gathered outside the country’s parliament, where they have been gathering daily for over a year. Their core demands stayed … Read more
TBILISI, December 30 – A court case against two senior figures linked to Georgia’s former ruling party moved slowly forward in Tbilisi on Tuesday, as defense complaints over delays were echoed by concerns raised by the country’s Public Defender. Proceedings are under way at Tbilisi City Court against Levan Khabeishvili, political council chairman of the … Read more
TBILISI, December 27 – A Georgian court on Saturday ordered pre-trial detention for former defense minister Bacho Akhalaia, in the case about the October 4 ‘revolution’. According to Georgian media reports, Tbilisi City Court granted the prosecution’s request to place Akhalaia in custody as the investigation continues. The case is being handled by Georgia’s State … Read more
TBILISI, December 19 – A leading figure in Georgia’s opposition “Coalition for Change,” Zurab Japaridze, was released from Rustavi No. 12 penitentiary on Friday, December 19, after serving a seven month sentence. Japaridze was arrested on May 22 inside a courtroom. He had been summoned to appear before a temporary parliamentary investigative commission to give … Read more
TBILISI, December 18 – Georgian prosecutors on Thursday, December 18, leaned on a long, continuous video recording as a key piece of evidence in court proceedings tied to the events of October 4 in Tbilisi. In the October 4 case, prosecutor Tamar Bezhuashvili said the state has reviewed an “approximately 8-hour continuous video” that, she … Read more
TBILISI, December 18 – Protests resumed Wednesday evening on Rustaveli Avenue in central Tbilisi, despite verbal warnings by police the day before to adhere to new, stricter rules for public assemblies. The rally marked the 385th consecutive day of protest near parliament, with demonstrators again demanding new parliamentary elections and the release of people detained … Read more
TBILISI, December 16 – Lawmakers in Georgia are clashing over whether to open a special investigative commission to review how police handled mass protests last year, including what was put in water cannons used to disperse crowds. The push is coming from the For Georgia faction of former prime minister Giorgi Gakharia. The faction has … Read more
TBILISI, December 15 – Georgia’s Orthodox Church has suspended the rights of Father Dorote, a well-known cleric, to conduct priestly services. The decision quickly drew cricism from former president Salome Zourabichvili. The Patriarchate’s public relations service said Monday that Dorote, a cleric at Tbilisi’s Holy Trinity Cathedral, has been stripped of the right to perform … Read more
TBILISI, December 15 – A lawmaker from the party For Georgia has dismissed a legal challenge at the Constitutional Court filed by the larger opposition party United National Movement (UNM) as a mere political maneuver. Vika Pilpani, an MP from the party founded by former prime minister Giorgi Gakharia, spoke on Monday about UNM’s decision … Read more
TBILISI, December 12 – Georgia’s parliament speaker blasted non-governmental organizations on Friday, describing the NGO system as a harmful export from the West to Eastern Europe’s fledgling democracies. Speaking on Friday, Shalva Papuashvili said the NGO model imposed on developing countries represents what he called “the greatest evil” created by the West in post-Soviet democracies. … Read more