DFWatch Editor-in-Chief Lasha Tughushi is one of the authors of the bill. Behind him, co-author Natia Kuprashvili. TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s largest NGO coalition proposes an overhaul of the existing system for selecting a chief prosecutor in order to minimize the risk that one party takes the decision unilaterally. The proposed bill comes in the wake of a two-week-long series of rallies in Tbilisi […]
The doctors said MP Valeri Gelashvili barely survived after being beaten by masked men in 2005. (1tv.ge) TBILISI, DFWatch–Tbilisi City Court on Thursday found former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili guilty of ordering the beating of a parliamentarian in 2005. Saakashvili was sentenced to six years in prison and stripped of his right to hold government […]
Tamta Janjgava (left) and Natia Topuria. (Facebook.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Police in Georgia have arrested two young women implicated in the near fatal stabbing of a popular crooner. Irakli Nozadze, nicknamed ‘Picasso’, was in a critical condition after major loss of blood after being stabbed multiple times in the chest and neck on Monday. […]
Irakli Nozadze. (Facebook.) TBILISI, DFWatch–One of Georgia’s most popular singers was stabbed in Tbilisi Monday evening. Two girls are suspected of carrying out the crime. Irakli “Picasso” Nozadze of the popular quartet Street Boys (“ქუჩის ბიჭები”) is in a critical condition after being stabbed in the chest. […]
The 11th Century ivory icon Okon is estimated to be worth 1.6 million euro. (cominf.org) TBILISI, DFWatch–Separatists in South Ossetia have repeated a call to Georgia to hand over an 11th Century icon currently being kept in the National Museum in Tbilisi. Representatives of the breakaway republic raised the issue during […]
Georgian Defense Minister Levan Izoria. (mod.gov.ge.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia will probably receive American-made Stinger MANPADs, the defense minister has revealed. Defense Minister Levan Izoria mentioned the new weapons acquisition during a confirmation hearing in parliament on Tuesday. “Georgia will get, along with the Javelins, […]
Asylum applications by Georgian nationals between April 2016 and April 2018. (www.easo.europa.eu) TBILISI, DFWatch–The number of Georgians who sought asylum in Schengen countries dropped 13 percent in April, compared to the month before, but the small Caucasus nation is still over-represented. Despite a modest population of 3.7 million, Georgia still ranks among […]
GALI, DFWatch–Sokhumi has suspended the issuing of ‘visas’ which is needed by many Georgians to visit family and do business here in the southern Gali region of the breakaway republic. […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian Prosecutor’s Office has indicted two South Ossetian officials for involvement in the abduction and torture of a Georgian former soldier in Akhalgori, an enclave under control of the breakaway region. Davit Gurtsiev, the head of de facto security body in Akhalgori, […]
Abkhazia’s de facto president Raul Khajimba and Beslan Dbar (presidentofabkhazia.org) GALI, DFWatch–Breakaway authorities in Sokhumi plan to invite ethnic Abkhazians in the Middle East to come and settle in the southern Gali and northern Gagra districts. The scheme will shift the demographics in parts of the disputed territory where the Abkhazians are not […]
Greta Van Susteren interviews Donald Trump at the Singapore Summit. (VOA) President Donald Trump spoke with VOA contributor Greta Van Susteren after his summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore about what the two discussed and what to expect next. […]
Commissioners Pavel Bém (left) and Michel Kazatchkine. Two commissioners visiting Tbilisi urge the government of Georgia to go ahead with bold reform of drug policies, insisting that ending punishment does not mean encouraging or condoning the use of drugs, but rather it empowers individuals and communities […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili resigned on Wednesday, citing disagreement with the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili. According to the Constitution, the PM’s resignation also means that the entire government resigns. […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–The leader of Georgia’s largest opposition party UNM was among 19 people detained on Monday as street protests resumed against a murder investigation. Authorities came down hard on organizers as the rallies resumed Monday as a deadline set by protesters […]
AKHALGORI, DFWatch–Georgians took to social media to express their outrage on Friday after it emerged that a South Ossetian officer was receiving treatment at a Tbilisi hospital. It is being speculated that he might be implicated in the murder of Archil Tatunashvili, […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Four died, and 21 were reportedly injured when a minivan full of schoolchildren rolled into a ravine near Tbilisi Saturday. One child and three adults were killed, the latter reportedly parents of schoolchildren. 21 people were injured, including 12 children. […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–One person was arrested for witness tampering on Friday in connection with the new investigation into the Khorava Street murders. Merab Morchadze, 45, was detained under Article 372 of the Criminal Code on the basis of new evidence obtained in the course of the new […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Tbilisi City Court has started reviewing a lawsuit against DFWatch filed by Igor Giorgadze, a former head of Georgia’s State Security Ministry who is wanted by Georgia for a failed assassination attempt […]
Photos: Giorgi Tatunashvili, kissing the forehead of his deceased son Archil at the funeral. March 24. (RFE/RL.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A new forensic examination carried out in Georgia concludes that Archil Tatunashvili, a former soldier who died in a prison in South Ossetia February 23, was most likely killed. The body had nearly a hundred different injuries and signs that indicate he was tortured. […]
Paul Stronski is a senior fellow in Carnegie’s Russia and Eurasia Program, where his research focuses on the relationship between Russia and neighboring countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus. Voice of America’s Ani Chkhikvadze sat down with Paul Stronski, Carnegie Endowment fellow in Washington DC to discuss Georgia’s domestic and foreign affairs. […]
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs on Friday offered the father of a murdered teenager who is leading a street protest to enroll in a witness protection program, claiming his life may be in danger. Zaza Saralidze has been at the front of an ongoing street protest […]
