Saturday, December 13, 2025

Saakashvili pardons former officials on eve of presidency

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President Mikheil Saakashvili. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–President Mikheil Saakashvili has pardoned 248 prisoners, 170 of whom had their sentence stricken from their criminal record.

56 had their sentence reduced to half, while 5 received a lighter sentence.

Among those pardoned are former government

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Bacho Akhalaia acquitted in abuse case

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Bacho Akhalaia was acquitted along with seven others for abuse of special unit employees. The prosecutor will appeal the ruling. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Tbilisi City Court found Bacho Akhalaia not guilty of abusing seven special unit employees, a case which has been under review for two months.

The former defense minister was on trial for mistreatment and torture for political reasons of seven special

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Interpol issues red alert for Georgia jihad video suspect

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Samar Chokutayev, the suspect in the jihad video case. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Interpol has issued a red alert in the search for Samar Chokutaev, the alleged perpetrator behind the so-called jihad videos against Georgian soldiers in Afghanistan.

The Prosecutor’s Office in Georgia sent documents to Interpol asking to launch

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Georgians detained in Italy for murder of Rus mafia boss

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Aslan Usoyan, also known as Ded Hassan, was murdered in Moscow in January, 2013. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Police in Rome have detained three Georgians who are suspected of murdering the Russian mafia boss Ded Hassan in January, 2013.

76 year-old Aslan Usoyan, also known as Ded Hassan, or Grandpa Hassan, was shot in the head by a sniper when he was

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Report highlights some irregularities in Georgia's election

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Observers from six eastern European countries found minor irregularities in Georgia’s presidential election. (EILAT.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum Task Force (TF) gives Sunday’s election a positive evaluation, but also highlights several violations.

The task force consisted of seven observers from Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova, Ukraine and Poland,

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Inauguration to be financed by gov't reserve fund

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The inauguration of newly elected president Giorgi Margvelashvili (right) will be financed by the government’s reserve fund. Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili left. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–The inauguration of the new president will be financed from the government’s reserve fund, Georgia’s finance minister says.

Finance Minister Nodar Khaduri said Wednesday that there is not enough money in the president’s reserve fund to finance

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Bacho Akhalaia sentenced to three years, nine months

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Former Prison Minister Bacho Akhalaia on the day of his detention, November 7, 2012. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–A court in Georgia has sentenced a former government minister to three years and nine months in jail for his role in a prison riot in 2006.

Bacho Akhalaia, former Prison, Defense and Interior Minister, was charged together with Davit Chakua, Revaz

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