Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Illegal trade on rise due to dire economic situation, Gali residents say

GALI, DFWatchThe loss of sources of income related to the spread of deadly brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), which has devastated locals’ orchards, urges residents of Gali to return to illegal business of smuggling goods, particularly cigarettes, from the breakaway Abkhazia to Georgia proper.

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51 people jailed for entering Georgia’s breakaway territories the wrong way

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The bridge over the river Inguri is currently the only legal way to enter Abkhazia. (DF Watch.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia has jailed 51 persons over the last nine years for entering Abkhazia or South Ossetia from the wrong direction. The ombudsman now calls for a review of the law.

Georgia’s Law on the Occupied Territories

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Mshybzia! Futile activism serves the interests of elites

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A screenshot from the project’s website (mshibzia.com)

The new Georgian social media campaign aimed at reaching out to Abkhaz society is an example of a futile activism informed by nationalist narratives which are being used by Georgian political elites to distract society from the core issue of unresolved ethnic conflict

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Georgia to seek international criminal prosecution for suspect in Khurcha incident

Prosecutor's Office of Georgia in Ortachala, Tbilisi
The Prosecutor’s Office in Ortachala, Tbilisi. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–In a statement released on Saturday, Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia laid out its version of the tragic event of May 19, and announced it would appeal to the court demanding detention in absentia of Rashid Kanciogli, identified as a person who allegedly

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Georgian IDP killed by Abkhaz guards at checkpoint

An ethnic Georgian man was fatally wounded by an Abkhaz border officer in an incident that occurred at the Khurcha-Nabakevi checkpoint at the de facto border with Abkhazia, inside the territory under control of Georgian authorities. The video (+18) from a surveillance camera distributed by Rustavi 2 shows how four men in uniforms assault on … Read more