TBILISI, September 24 – Lawyers for Levan Khabeishvili, chairman of the political council of Georgia’s opposition United National Movement (UNM), are doubling down on claims that his arrest is politically motivated. Khabeishvili was detained earlier this month by Georgia’s State Security Service and charged with publicly promising money to officials in exchange for political support. … Read more
TBILISI, September 22 – Georgia’s opposition are adjusting their language under pressure from the ruling party’s legal threats ahead of a planned October 4 rally previously presented as a ‘peaceful revolution.‘ Paata Burchuladze, founder of the “Rustaveli Avenue” movement, said he was replacing the phrase “peaceful overthrow” with what he jokingly called “affectionate clean-up.” His … Read more
TBILISI, September 16 – Georgia’s prime minister is escalating attacks on jailed opposition activist Elene Khoshtaria, accusing her of being in the Kremlin’s pay. Speaking Tuesday after the Dutch ambassador visited Khoshtaria in detention, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze blasted the envoy for “grossly violating” the Vienna Convention and claimed the meeting was interference in Georgia’s … Read more
TBILISI, September 15 – Elene Khoshtaria, one of the leaders of Georgia’s opposition group Coalition for Change, was taken to a temporary detention facility in the Tbilisi district of Zahesi, local media reported. Earlier this morning, police detained Khoshtaria outside her home and took her to a police station. Supporters from her party later gathered … Read more
TBILISI, September 15 – Giga Bokeria, leader of the small opposition party Federalists, blasted the detention of Elena Khoshtaria, the head of the opposition group Droa. Bokeria described the move as “another shameless example of double standards” by what he called the “unconstitutional regime of Bidzina Ivanishvili,” the billionaire founder of the ruling Georgian Dream … Read more
TBILISI, September 15 – A jailed leader of Georgia’s largest opposition party has accused the country’s most powerful political figures of locking him up to silence dissent, calling his arrest proof that the government fears its own people. Levan Khabeishvili, a senior figure in the United National Movement (UNM), made the comments in a handwritten … Read more
TBILISI, September 13 – Levan Khabeishvili, chairman of the political council of the opposition United National Movement (UNM), has been formally charged in Georgia with promising bribes to officials and publicly calling for the overthrow of state authority. His arrest has triggered sharp debate, with the opposition accusing the government of fear mongering ahead of … Read more
TBILISI, September 12 – Georgia’s State Security Service carried out dramatic arrests in the Black Sea city of Batumi, detaining the leader of the opposition National Movement (UNM), Levan Khabeishvili, along with party member Murtaz Zodelava. Former defense minister Juansher Burchuladze, a close ally of ex-prime minister Irakli Garibashvili, was also taken into custody. The … Read more
TBILISI, September 6 – Two of Georgia’s best-known opposition figures, Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, walked free on Friday, after being pardoned by President Mikheil Kavelashvili. Both men are leading figures in the Lelo party, and had been serving prison sentences since June for defying a parliamentary investigation into the country’s turbulent political past. Their … Read more
TBILISI, September 3 – Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, is weighing whether to push for a ban on the United National Movement (UNM), the party founded by former president Mikheil Saakashvili. The debate follows a lengthy parliamentary investigation led by Vice Speaker Tea Tsulukiani, which portrays the UNM era (2004–2012) as marked by abuses, mismanagement, … Read more