President Mikheil Saakashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia is without ambassador in seven countries, because the president has failed to sign their confirmation. Foreign Affairs Minister Maia Panjikidze said on Saturday that President Mikheil Saakashvili still hasn’t signed the document to confirm […]
(Samkhretis Karibche.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The minaret that was dismantled in southern Georgia earlier in the week and taken to Tbilisi has been returned to its village, but remains in pieces for the time being. The Revenue Service, which promised to rebuild it where it once stood […]
Zurab Abashidze. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Russia is to simplify visa rules for Georgian citizens. Zurab Abashidze, the Georgian PM’s Special Representative for Russian Relations, told Russian media that visa rules will be simplified for Georgian citizens who are planning to visit Russia […]
Kenneth S. Yalowitz is former US Ambassador to Georgia. DFW: Almost eleven months have passed after Georgia’s parliamentary election of October 2012 when the Georgian Dream coalition defeated United National Movement and the entire politics changed. It led to a mixed response from the US. Now almost a year after the elections, what […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–The Foreign Affairs Ministry in Georgia is working on providing a safe route out of Syria for Georgian citizens who are in Damascus. Two days ago, Rustavi 2 reported that there are 22 Georgians in Damascus requesting help from the government. They […]
“Give us freedom of faith” says this poster. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Agreement was reached by Muslim and Christian leaders in Georgia on Thursday about what to do with a minaret which was removed from a mosque earlier in the week. The Georgian Orthodox Church — the Patriarchate — and the organizations Muslims of […]
Ombudsman Ucha Nanuashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s ombudsman Ucha Nanuashvili Thursday announced a separate inquest into the Lapankuri border skirmish in August 2012, which claimed the lives of fourteen people. Nanuashvili told Interpressnews a new inquest is necessary because more than a year has […]
Khatuna Kortava says her nephew was a victim of the Saakashvili regime. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Saakashvili’s National Movement is meeting resistance in its efforts to play the crime card in the election campaign. “No-one should be led by Saakashvili to try to score political points in my child’s name,” says Khatuna Kortava, aunt of Levan Kortava, […]
“Everybody has a right to pray”, says this poster. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–On Wednesday, it seemed that a minaret which was taken down, ostensibly for tax audit purposes, would be put back up. Archil Khabadze, head of government in the Adjara region, said the minaret in Chela would be rebuilt on Thursday. Muslims had come […]
President Mikheil Saakashvili (left) compared Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili to a zoo director for releasing prisoners. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–President Mikheil Saakashvili called Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili a “zoo director” and compared persons released in an amnesty to animals. Saakashvili said he usually gets a warm welcome in Batumi, and was surprised when there was a demonstration […]
Dimitri Shashkin yesterday said he didn’t know there was abuse in the prisons until October 2012, although nine prison staff were reprimanded in 2011 after the Council of Europe exposed systematic mistreatment. (Maestro.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The exiled Saakashvili ally Dimitry Shashkin returned to Georgia on Wednesday to answer questions about the abuse in the prisons. Shashkin was among many officials in the former regime who fled the country after the National Movement’s election […]
Tsitelubani. (tv1.ge.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Three Georgians were released on Wednesday by Russian soldiers in South Ossetia, a Georgian breakaway region. Irakli Merebashvili, and the couple Nana Vanishvili, Alexandre Tsertsvadze and their teenage child were detained on August 22 in the village […]
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–429 prisoners were released on Wednesday in connection with the Georgian religious holiday Mariamoba. August 28, Georgia celebrates the assumption of Mary, known as Mariamoba. In connection with the holiday, the president customarily pardons […]
The Public Defender calls for an immediate investigation of the violence during a demonstration against the dismantling of a minaret in southern Georgia. (Samkhretis Karibche.) TBILISI, DFWatch–All the people detained while protesting against the dismantling of a minaret at a Mosque in the village Chela, in southern Georgia, have now been released. Meanwhile, the protests continue in the village and support rallies are held in the capital […]
In Chela, where a minaret was recently taken down from the local mosque, the head of the local government has been detained. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Police in Georgia on Tuesday detained the head of the local government in Adigeni in the south of the country, where a minaret of mosque was recently dismantled. Gamgebeli Simon Parunashvili, who is member of the National Movement, is charged with […]
President Mikheil Saakashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–President Mikheil Saakashvili has asked the Ivanishvili government for a dialogue to discuss how to establish ‘civil peace’ after the dismantling of a minaret, but the government rejected the idea, and the vice premier said there have never been […]
Minister of Defense Irakli Alasania visited the United States and met Edmond Mulet, the UN’s Assistant Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations. (Ministry of Defense.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia may take part in UN-led peacekeeping operations. This is clear after a visit to the U.S. by Defense Minister Irakli Alasania. During the visit, Alasania and Irakli Dzneladze, head of Joint Staff of Georgia’s armed forces, met with Edmond […]
Conflict along political fault lines were brought to the surface in Bolnisi. (Channel One.) TBILISI, DFWatch–There was tension outside Bolnisi municipality building on Monday when some members of the city council wanted to hold a secret ballot and impeach the new head of the municipality, who was appointed in January by the Georgian Dream coalition. 13 […]
De facto president Alexandre Ankvab (left) and Russian president Vladimer Putin. (Kremlin photo.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The European Union Delegation to Georgia expresses concern about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia. The EU delegation on Tuesday issued a statement saying that it recalls that the EU doesn’t […]
Police in Chela, Adigeni. (Samkhretis Karibche.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The local municipality in the village Chela in Adigeni in Georgia has started to dismantle the minaret of a mosque, which has caused concern of Muslims. The police was at the site of the minaret from morning and prohibiting local Muslims from […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–The former head of Georgia’s National Olympic Committee and the founder of Artesi Ltd were released on 200 000 lari (USD 120 000) bail each and will have 30 days to pay the bail. The Prosecutor’s Office asked for 300 000 bail for each of them. 16 […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–For the last few days people have been reporting that the police have stopped them in the street and searched them. Some have also been taken to the local police station for further questioning. The incidents have taken place mainly in the capital. […]
De facto Abkhazian President Alexandre Ankvab (left) and Russian President Vladimer Putin. (Official Kremlin photo.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Georgia’s breakaway region Abkhazia Monday and congratulated de facto President Alexandre Ankvab on the ‘five year anniversary since Russia recognized its independence’. Georgia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has […]
Used cars is still Georgia’s number one export article. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Precise data from Georgian Statistics Department (GeoStat) show that Georgia’s foreign trade turnover in the first seven months of 2013 was two percent less than in 2012. The total amount of foreign trade turnover in January-July 2013 was USD 5 662 […]
(DFWatch.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Turkey has lowered the transit fee for Georgian registered trucks to a quarter after several Georgian trucks failed to pay the amount usually paid by every other country. From September 1, so-called panel vans and minibuses will have to pay 150 or 300 […]
Most visitors on Friday had come to see Sleep Party People. (DFWatch.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The third day of Batumi Summer Set electronic music festival had to be canceled due to bad weather as water flooded the festival area and destroyed equipment. The festival in Georgia’s largest Black Sea beach resort started on August 22 with Danish […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Former member of parliament and chairman of the Olympic Committee Gia Natsvlishvili is charged with appropriation of 4 052 108 lari (USD 2.5 million) of public money. He denies guilt. The investigative service of the Ministry of Finance said Saturday […]
Power will shift from president to prime minister after October’s election. Pictured: President Mikheil Saakashvili (left), and Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. (Photo published on Ivanishvili’s Facebook page.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia will change from a presidential republic into a parliamentary one after the election on October 27. We give you the details. The new president will start fulfilling his duties as soon as he has been sworn in, and after this ceremony, the […]
Elene Tevdoradze, head of the pardon commission. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The pardon commission on Friday reviewed the cases of 500 prisoners. 217 were given a positive recommendation. The commission received recommendations from the president, who has the right to pardon prisoners independently or based on the […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Russian soldiers Friday detained three Georgian citizens close to the breakaway region South Ossetia. The incident took place as the father of one the detainees, Aleksandre Tsertsvdze, was being driven by his neighbor to the neighboring village, […]
Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili says many of Channel 9’s journalists were not professionals. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili says journalists and employees of TV9 made a mistake when they closed down the channel immediately after his statement. “Journalists didn’t come to TV9 from BBC and CNN. Many of them weren’t professionals; [they] […]
Prison Minister Sozar Subari. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Prison Minister Sozar Subari on Friday responded to accusations made by the National Movement yesterday that the government has allowed the mafia to make a comeback in Georgian prisons. Prisoners with influence over other inmates, called supervisors, […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–A mosque is going to be built in a village in Georgia’s eastern Kakheti region. Badrudin Ibragimov, Chairman of National-Cultural Autonomy of Avar in South Caucasus, told Intepressnews that at the moment, the project is acquiring all the necessary […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Eleven non-governmental organizations which work on election issues will Friday name their candidate to fill the vacant position as chairman of the Central Election Commission. The NGOs plan to propose Tamar Zhvania, a project manager at […]
Dinamo Tbilisi lost 0-5 to Tottenham Hotspur in Tbililsi Thursday. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Dinamo Tbilisi lost Saturday’s match against Tottenham Hotspur 0-5. The play-off match for UEFA Europa League was held at Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi. Tottenham scored in the 13th minute and added one more goal in the first half. By the end of [...]
TBILISI, DFWatch–The National Movement blames the government for allowing the mafia to run the prisons in Georgia. Mikheil Ghurtskhaia, spokesperson for the Prison Ministry, does not deny that criminals have power in the prisons, but told DF Watch that when UNM was in […]
Tottenham players training in Tbilisi before Thursday’s match. (Tottenham Hotspur website.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Dinamo Tbilisi plays against Tottenham Hotspur at 20:00 today at Dinamo stadium in Tbilisi. The London team arrived in Georgia on Tuesday and left the airport without comment. Practicing matches were held at Dinamo stadium. The match is part of the […]
Giorgi Mebonia. TBILISI, DFWatch–A recruit has died at a Georgian military air base near the capital Tbilisi. According to the ministry, the incident happened on Wednesday at a checkpoint while he was on duty. The body of the deceased, Giorgi Mebonia, has been taken to the National […]
Minister of Finance Nodar Khaduri. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Minister of Finance Nodar Khaduri has sent out a special statement to ministry employees that makes clear what restrictions they must follow regarding election campaigning. The statement concerns the Code of Conduct for public servants and includes […]
Batumi is getting ready for three days of electronic music. (Festival handout photo.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s sea resort Batumi is hosting a three-day summer festival of electronic music starting Thursday. Batumi Summer Set Festival runs from August 22 to 24 and will host many well-known names in the genre. Among the headliners are Denmark’s […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Bank of Georgia was subject to an armed robbery in downtown Tbilisi late on Wednesday. The Ministry of Internal Affairs was tight-lipped about the details, beyond noting that an investigation has been launched and criminal experts are studying the […]
President Mikheil Saakashvili is feeling bored sitting in his office. (Official photo.) TBILISI, DFWatch–President Mikheil Saakashvili plans to open an education center for viticulture, wine-making and vine care in Georgia’s eastern Kakheti region, where he owns a house and vineyards. Speaking in front of journalists at his palace in Tbilisi Wednesday, […]
Mikael Botkoveli, head of the press office at the Patriarchate. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian Church, the Patriarchate, has suspended a priest who recently claimed that the Prosecutor’s Office pressured him to give testimony against former Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia. Mikael Botkoveli, head of the press office at […]
Ex-prisoners are queueing outside the presidential palace after Saakashvili promised to clear their records. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Former prisoners and people on probation crowded outside President Mikheil Saakashvili’s palace in Tbilisi after he offered to pardon them and clear their criminal record. The president said August 19 that people who are probationers or have […]
Davit Chkhitunidze. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A Georgian man is in hospital in a serious condition after being beaten while in detention awaiting his extradition to his home country. The man, Davit Chkhitunidze, was detained at Athens airport on August 14 as he was preparing to fly to Turkey, […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia is in 55th place of 178 countries on the Failed States Index for 2013. This is a slight improvement position compared to previous years. On top of the list are Somalia, Congo, Sudan and South Sudan. The least failed countries are Finland, […]
From left to right: Levan Natroshvili (TI), Lela Taliauri (GYLA), Irina Imerlishvili, MP, and journalist Rusiko Machaidze. (DFWatch.) TBILISI, DFWatch–DF Watch organized a round table on election issues with representatives of two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream coalition. They discussed amendments to the election legislation and also problems which […]
Minister of Justice, Thea Tsulukiani. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s interagency commission for free and fair elections on Monday held its first session. It was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice. The commission was created ahead of last year’s parliamentary election to prevent […]
TV 9 director Luba Eliashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Several persons have already expressed interest in buying Georgia’s Channel 9, which yesterday stopped functioning. The TV station’s director Luba Eliashvili said to employees gathered outside its office building that several persons already have […]
Tbilisi City Hall. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A majority of Tbilisi City Council has voted for expanding the city budget by 17 million lari (USD 10.2 million) to 740 million lari (USD 445 million) — a four percent increase. Mayor Gigi Ugulava from the former ruling National Movement party […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–TV9, a channel affiliated with Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, went off air on Monday. It had earelier announced that it would close on September 1. The news program at 21:00 was its final broadcast, with News Director Luba Eliashvili saying goodbye […]
Landslides have been accelerated by the heavy rain, says Valerian Chitashvili, governor of Guria. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Several families have been forced from their homes in Ozurgeti, in Georgia’s western Guria region, due to a landslide. Valerian Chitashvili, governor of Guria, told journalists that two days of heavy rains in the region accelerated the landslides […]
Luba Eliashvili, head of Channel 9’s news division. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Channel 9, a TV company affiliated with Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, is to be closed from September 1. Luba Eliashvili, chairman of the TV company’s news division, explained that for the last ten months they have been looking for new owners […]
Nino Evgenidze is Executive Director of the Economic Policy Research Center. We often hear pre-election promises of various political parties that envisage increasing pensions to equal the subsistence minimum. Such promises enjoy a positive reaction from society, however the necessity of a pension reform in the country is underestimated and is […]
The flood struck the village Ureki in the middle of the tourist season. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–22 families are cut off from the outside world due to flood in the village Chanchati, in Georgia’s western Guria region. Gulnara Chichua, government trustee in the village, told journalists that the flood also has affected other villages in Guria, […]
Police cars in Duisi. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A conflict of unknown nature has developed between Kists and local Georgian youth in Pankisi Valley, which lies in the northeast of Georgia, at the foot of the Caucasus mountains. No-one is injured, but the situation is tense and the Interior […]
The flood water was one meter high and rising, locals said Sunday. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian Black Sea resort Ureki was flooded after heavy rain on Sunday. Part of the population is leaving the place and requesting help from the government. Tens of houses were flooded, and a landslide has blocked the roads. Kote Sharashenidze, […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Tbilisi City Court releasing six policemen on bail who were detained for fabricating evidence to build a case against Interior Minister Irakli Gharibashvili’s father-in-law, Tamaz Tamazashvili. The six are charged with planting a weapon on […]
Irakli Okruashvili in Tbilisi, January 2013. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Former defense minister Irakli Okruashvili was Saturday briefly detained by French police after a scuffle with another Georgian politician, former MP Merab Samadashvili. The scuffle took place at Nice airport. Okruashvili was later released by airport police. […]
Bacho Akhalaia. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Law enforcers are considering another charge against former Interior Minister Bacho Akhalaia and want to question him about the murder of Sandro Girgvliani in 2006. Tbilisi Prosecutor Maya Mtsariashvili told journalists that in the course of the […]
“Of course I didn’t know,” Khatuna Kalmakhelidze said on Friday. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Prosecutor’s Office in Georgia Friday summoned the former prison and defense ministers to question them about the torture in the prisons during the Saakashvili regime. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, it has found, after a number […]
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maia Panjikidze. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–OSCE’s long term observers for the upcoming presidential election will arrive in Georgia on September 16. Maia Panjikidze, Foreign Affairs Minister, on Friday told journalists that Georgia has received a positive response from the NATO Parliamentary […]
Newly elected TSU rector Vladimer Papava (left) and his predecessor Aleksandre Kvitashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Vladimer Papava, an economics professor who was economy minister during President Shevardnadze in the 1990s, has been elected as rector of Tbilisi State University. Papava was supported by ten of the board’s 12 members, the remaining two voted for Irma […]
Data for January-July of previous years. (GeoStat.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Foreign trade turnover in January-July 2013 fell by 2 percent compared to the same period in 2012, according to preliminary data from Georgia’s National Statistics Department, GeoStat. The total foreign trade turnover in the first seven months […]
Minister of Internal Affairs, Irakli Gharibashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s interior minister says the dirty Soviet-style archive of compromising surveillance videos illegally amassed by the Saakashvili regime will be destroyed in the ‘next few days’, but the date remains unknown. Interior Minister Irakli […]
FDI in Georgia in 2012, broken down by sector. Preliminary data. (Source: investingeorgia.org.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Direct foreign investments in Georgia fell by almost a fifth in 2012, compared to 2011, according to data from the National Statistics Department (Geostat). In 2012, the total amount of foreign investments was USD 912 million. This is five percent […]
Zurab Kharatishvili, for years head of the Central Election Commission, left his job to become a politician. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Zurab Kharatishvili, head of the Central Election Commission in Georgia, on Thursday explained that he resigned in order to go into politics and may even run for president. On Monday, Kharatishvili applied to parliament for permission to leave as CEC head. […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Students at Tbilisi State University are planning a protest on Friday against the system of having the 12-member academic board of the institution elect a rector. Organizers say it is not right that only 12 persons decide this, when there are more […]
Minister of Agriculture Shalva Pipia. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The government in Georgia is subsidizing the grape harvest with 25 million lari (USD 15 million) in the form of cheap loans to wine companies. This is a threefold rise, compared to previous years. Explaining the increased stimulation of the wine […]
President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–“The war didn’t start between Georgians and Abkhazians – this war was imposed on our people, that’s why we will win together – Georgians and Abkhazians,” President Mikheil Saakashvili said 21 years after the Abkhazian War started. The war […]
Economy Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said the UNM’s call for a crisis meeting was election PR. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A planned meeting between two top people in the main political blocs in Georgia has been scuttled by a disparaging remark by one of the sides. Economy Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili from the Georgian Dream coalition, and Davit Bakradze, the National […]
Giorgi Gabedava was detained Tuesday at the trial of Bacho Akhalaia, who by many is seen as responsible for the prison torture. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–National Front member Giorgi Gabedava, who was detained yesterday at a rally outside Tbilisi City Court, was today released and given a 100 lari (USD 60) fine. He was charged with petty hooliganism and admitted guilt. During the hearing, Gabedava […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–The Prosecutor’s Office in Georgia has charged an citizen of Uzbekistan for human trafficking. The suspect, Nargizbegim Nakhmanova, born in 1984, is charged in absentia for four different violations, according to the Interior Ministry. Apart from […]
The Oncological Clinic in Tbilisi. (1tv.ge.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Hospitals which are owned by Aditti, and the Oncological clinic in Tbilisi, will become government property, the Health Minister Davit Sergeenko says. The Oncological center in Tbilisi was privatized and bought by Canadian Pegasus Pharmaceuticals […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–According to a new survey by Transparency International Georgia (TIG), about 6 000 employees have been dismissed from public institutions after the 1 October 2012 parliamentary elections. Almost half of them have resigned and only 4% of newly hired […]
Crowds awaiting the verdict in the case against Bacho Akhalaia. Many see him as responsible for the prison torture. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Three people were Tuesday detained at a rally outside Tbilisi City Court where the case against ex-minister Bacho Akhalaia went on. In a few days, the court will announce its verdict in the final case against Akhalaia which deals with torture […]
Mine workers in Chiatura pictured during the strike in November, 2012. (DFWatch.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Two mine workers have drowned in a mine in Chiatura as result of an accident as water flowed up while they were drilling in an old mine. Roland Nozadze, 51, shift leader, and Iuza Samkharadze, 49, worker, died as result of an accident. Two other […]
Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili (left) and candidate for president Giorgi Margvelashvili with supporters in Nokalakevi. (Official photo.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili opened the Georgian Dream coalition’s election campaign on Monday, in the historical town Nokalakevi. The event marked the official launch of the coalition’s election campaign and its candidate for president, […]
Police used excessive force on May 26, 2011, according to Georgian Young Lawyer’s Association. TBILISI, DFWatch–The lawyer of the detained former prime minister Vano Merabishvili demands to stop the criminal prosecution against his client, or at least release him on bail, after the publication of a report commissioned by the US Justice Department. […]
The village Kveshi. (Radio Tavisupleba.) TBILISI, DFWatch–In the morning of August 10, there was a shooting incident close to the so-called administrative border around South Ossetia. A patrol car of Georgia’s Interior Ministry and representatives of EUMM were present. The Georgian Interior Ministry in […]
The Black Sea coast is a popular destination in summer. Here Ganmukhuri. TBILISI, DFWatch–The number of people who visited Georgia has increased by 26 percent in the first seven months of 2013 compared to the same period last year. Giorgi Sigua, Chairman of the National Tourism Administration, said at a briefing that in the first seven […]
Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili taking part in a village tradition at an Adjara wedding. (ISFED.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili might have violated election legislation after he gave a ring to a wedding couple during a visit to a village. International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), which is observing events around the […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–The president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) says Georgia’s bank sector is in ‘a very good shape’. Sir Suma Chakrabarti, EBRD President, said in an interview with the Georgian edition of Forbes Magazine that many […]
Zurab Kharatishvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Two months before Georgia’s presidential election, the head of the Central Election Commission (CEC), Zurab Kharatishvili, has resigned. Kharatishvili’s reason for leaving is not known. He has published a statement saying that he is leaving, but will […]
Demonstrators in Batumi don’t want any ‘cohabitation’ between the Saakashvili regime and the current government. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Former political prisoners and refugees from Abkhazia held a rally in Batumi on Sunday outside the prosecutor’s office in Adjara to demand the arrest of Supreme Court Chairman Kote Kublashvili and the dismissal of Chief Prosecutor Archil Kbilashvili. […]
The hospital in Kharagauli, owned by Aditti. (DFWatch.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Doctors demonstrated in six towns in Georgia Saturday, demanding to have their salaries. Their target is the company Aditti, which has bought many of the formerly state-owned hospitals in the country. Doctors have gone without pay for more than six […]
The court building in Kutaisi. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Three prison staff suspected of wrongdoing in connection with the death of a prisoner in a town in western Georgia were Saturday released on bail. The Appeals Court in Georgia’s second city Kutaisi decided to release Giga Kokhodze, Aleko Babunashvili […]
Economy Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Five Georgian sailors are stuck on a ship in Croatian waters. Seven other Georgians are stuck on another ship off the Algerian coast. The sailors haven’t been paid salary for months and cannot return to Georgia. Owner of both ships is a Slovenian company which […]
People in Khoni were up since 4 am Friday removing water from their homes. (tv9.ge.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Rain water poured into the village Khoni in western Georgia Friday, flooding the basements and first floors of 500 houses and killing poultry. Locals tell journalists they haven’t slept all night but have been out cleaning their houses and saving […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–President Saakashvili Friday left the capital for a three day hike at Tobavarchkhila Lake. He brought with him several members of the National Movement. Saakashvili spoke about his trip in an interview with the Public Broadcaster’s channel 1 […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–The judiciary system has progress after the October 1, 2012, parliamentary election, a new survey has shown. Transparency International Georgia (TIG) has scrutinized the changes in the judiciary system during the last year and concluded that the […]
Tengiz Jgushia. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Police have detained former MP Tengiz Jgushia, who is suspected of yesterday having shot at the deputy head of a local government near the town Zugdidi, in western Georgia. Jgushia was member of parliament for the Citizen’s Union from 1995 to 1999 and […]
Cheap tractors were bought, and public money siphoned off, prosecutors say. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Tbilisi City Court Thursday released on bail the last two persons who had been detained in the so-called tractor case. All in all, seven are accused on charges spanning negligence, state money embezzlement and pressure on experts. […]
Dvani, a village in the conflict area. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Five years after the war between Russia and Georgia, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has called for action to help the people in the conflict-affected areas. Supporting political negotiations is not enough, the OSCE […]
The National Movement’s candidate for president, Davit Bakradze. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–National Movement presidential candidate Davit Bakradze has put forth a plan called the national agreement and asked the ruling Georgian Dream coalition to make changes to solve the country’s economic problems. Presenting his party’s initiative […]
The deceased, Levan Kortava. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Prosecutor’s Office has detained another suspect in the case of the death of Levan Kortava. Prosecutors at the western regional office detained Iveri Gogoberidze on the basis of a court decision, according to a statement by the Prosecutor’s Office. […]
Torch lighting event on Wednesday to commemorate the 2008 war. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Every year after the Russia-Georgia war in 2008 there have been planned different events for the five days the war lasted to pay tribute to the victims. Events were planned today in Gori, a town close to where the war took place. In the morning there […]
Finance Minister Nodar Khaduri. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The government in Georgia has answered its critics who say that the economy is in crisis, assuring them that all commitments and plans will be fulfilled and that the economy is in no danger. Georgian Dream coalition MPs on Wednesday met with the […]
TBILISI, DFWatch-Georgia and Ukraine plan to increase bilateral trade turnover to one billion USD in 2013. This was reported by Ukrainian media after a meeting between Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Olexandr Vilkul and Georgian Ambassador Mikhail Ukleba. Vilkul said […]
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The situation is still tense in the conflict region five years after the Russia-Georgia war, which resulted in hundreds of deaths and the occupation of two Georgian breakaway territories by Russia. The recent tension was caused by Russian soldiers […]
Prison Minister Sozar Subari. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–45 inmates are on hunger strike in the women’s prison in Rustavi, demanding to bring back the recently fired director of the facility. Later today, 80 other prisoners in a sign of solidarity refused to eat bread. They demand that Salome Janelidze […]
A construction company needed an access road and cut through the limestone. Environmentalists say it will take centuries for the rock to reform. (DFWatch.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A large part of a massive limestone formation in Georgia has been destroyed during repair work on a tunnel. The rock formation is located at a section of road between Gudauri and Kobi, leading up into the Kazbegi mountains in the north of Georgia, […]
In the village Ditsi. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says that the installation of razor wire close to the so-called administrative border with South Ossetia was not agreed with the Kremlin. In May, Russian soldiers moved a de facto border line around South […]
Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev. (Rustavi 2.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev interviewed by Georgian TV five years after the war: ‘Georgia should be interested in joining the Eurasian Union, because it is a neighbor of Russia.’ “We will never be neighbors with the US whatever happens. […]
Bolnisi municipality building. (Official photo.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Locals of Bolnisi, a town in southern Georgia, demand the resignation of the acting head of the local government, the gamgebeli, because they believe he is not fulfilling any of his duties. People in Bolnisi, in the Kvemo Kartli region, claim that […]
Irakli Gharibashvili. (Interpressnews.) (New comments added from Prof Jan van Dijk.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Interior Ministry and the National Statistics Department, GeoStat, have published different statistics of the level of crime in the country. The Statistics Department data says that the number of criminal cases has increased, […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Lawyers claim that the head of the municipality’s executive body, the gamgebeli, in a town in south Georgia is forcing them to write their letter of resignation. Levan Tsabadze, member of the Georgian Dream coalition and gamgebeli of Aspindza […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Three persons have been placed in pre-trial detention for two months pending trial, after a suspicious death of a prisoner. The prisoner, Levan Kortava, died May 23 at the prison hospital after being moved there from Geguti prison, a village […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Three prisoners are on a hunger strike at Ksani prison. The Prison Ministry said Monday that August 1 one of its prisoners, a man called Kakha, had sewed his eyelids shut as a sign of protest, as he perceives himself as innocent and demands to […]
(Rustavi 2.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A river burst its banks in Georgia’s western Guria region Monday and flooded about fifteen houses in the town Ozurgeti. According to local media, the water carried a car with two people inside into the river Shuti. One of them was a pregnant woman. […]
Murman Margvelashvili is Director of Energy Studies at World Experience for Georgia. Georgia is an energy dependent country – with 65% of energy demand being covered from external sources. Despite the richness in hydropower resources Georgia still has a negative balance even in electricity import-export. Energy dependence has a negative impact […]
Gia Shaoshvili is the first to carry out a threat by peach farmers to cut down their plantations if the government doesn’t help them. (ick.ge.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A peach farmer in Georgia has cut down his plantation because the government hasn’t helped him and his colleagues deal with a slump in the market price. When Gia Shaoshvili , a resident of the village Chumlaki in the eastern Kakheti region, carried […]
Speaker of Parliament Davit Usupashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The parliament in Georgia is starting to review a set of amendments to the constitution that aim to balance powers between the prime minister and the parliament, after a draft has been through a process of public discussion. The hearing process […]
Demonstrators want to preserve the area as a recreational zone. (DFWatch photo.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A rally was held on Sunday to protest the planned construction of a new restaurant at Turtle Lake in Tbilisi. Demonstrators say it will destroy a recreation zone. The demonstrations started in late July, when there was first put up a sign […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s economy and finance ministries claim that data recently published by the National Statistics Department, GeoStat, showing negative economic growth is not final and will be adjusted twice. On Wednesday, GeoStat published a report about […]
Turtle Lake near Tbilisi. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–More than 1500 Georgians have signed a petition demanding a stop in the cutting of trees in a recreation zone in the hills above the capital. The land plot was illegally sold by Tbilisi City Hall to a politician so he could build a restaurant to be used […]
May 17, 2013, thousands of activists disrupted a peaceful protest against homophobia in Tbilisi. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Tbilisi City Court on Thursday ruled that there is not enough evidence to prove the guilt of priest Tamaz Bichinashvili in the incidents of May 17, when clerics and their supporters dispersed a peaceful LGBT rally in Tbilisi. When a few tens […]
The statue of Stalin has been stored outdoors in a yard since its dismantling in 2010. (Radio Tavisupleba.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The monument of Stalin, which was removed from the pedestal in the central square in his hometown Gori in 2010, will be restored in the Stalin Museum in the same town. Georgian government officials deny any notion of rehabilitation of Stalin’s […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–The government in Georgia has presented figures for how political parties are to receive state funding in this year’s election campaign. 2 100 000 lari (USD 1 300 000) will be allocated for the seven parties that are represented in parliament; 1 050 […]
Davit Bakradze. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Davit Bakradze, the National Movement’s presidential candidate, asks Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili for a meeting to discuss how to get the country’s economy out of the crisis. The PM has not yet responded. On Wednesday, the National Statistics […]
Koba Davitashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Koba Davitashvili, leader of the People’s Party, one of the Georgian Dream coalition partners, on Friday said he is leaving the coalition to run for president. Davitashvili said the reason for his leaving is a systematic disagreement with Prime Minister […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–The new government in Georgia is coming under fire for its economic policy. Figures from the National Statistics Department, GeoStat, show that GDP in June was negative -0.8 percent compared to same period last year. President Saakashvili’s party […]
Tbilisi, DFWatch – Russian soldiers have detained one more Georgian citizen in a village close to the breakaway region South Ossetia. Locals say Mikheil Khurievi, 63, was in the village Tsitelubani on Georgian-controlled territory when Russian soldiers approached him. […]
Lasha Tugshushi, commission member says the part of archive will be destroyed by August 15 (IPN) TBilisi, DFWatch – Authorities in Georgia have set a time frame of two weeks for destroying part of an archive containing illegally obtained surveillance footage during the previous government. Lasha Tughushi, who is member of a commission to monitor […]
Tbilisi, DFWatch – Emergency workers in Georgia have saved four Polish climbers who have been trapped for three days atop one of the highest mountains in the Caucasus. The four became trapped on top of the mountain Shkara after one of them fell down when […]
Close Saakashvili ally Bacho Akhalaia was partly acquitted, but some charges remain. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–In a controversial decision on Thursday, Tbilisi city court acquitted former defense and interior minister Bachana (“Bacho”) Akhalaia, of one of the charges against him. The acquittal relates to a charge of abuse of military personnel and illegal […]
