TBILISI, August 24 – Georgian prosecutors on Monday charged former prime minister Irakli Garibashvili with taking 750,000 GEL of bribes in relation to secret Defense Ministry purchases. The Prosecutor General’s Office said the case concerns three classified procurements in 2022 for medical equipment and supplies needed by the Defense Ministry. Garibashvili was prime minister at … Read more
TBILISI, August 23 – A Georgian studies program at Harvard University has been suspended after funding from the Georgian government stopped. The program at Harvard’s Davis Center began academic and research work in January 2022. It was created under the leadership of American scholar Stephen Jones with USD 2.3 million in funding from Georgia’s Education … Read more
TBILISI, August 19 – Georgia’s jailed former prime minister Irakli Garibashvili claims an anti-corruption crackdown was designed to put him behind bars and destroy him politically. The confrontation began on Monday, with Garibashvili issuing a statement from prison saying he held Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili and the government fully responsible for the safety of … Read more
TBILISI, January 14 – Georgia’s political class were in shock after prosecutors confirmed a plea deal with former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, a man who until recently was part of the inner circle of the ruling Georgian Dream party. On Tuesday, the Prosecutor’s Office said it had signed a plea agreement with Garibashvili. Under the … Read more
TBILISI, October 24 – Former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has been formally charged with large-scale money laundering. According to prosecutors, Garibashvili is accused under Article 194 of Georgia’s Criminal Code of legalizing illicit income involving particularly large sums. Prosecutors said he pleaded guilty to the charges, though the former premier has not yet commented … Read more
TBILISI, October 19 – A senior Georgian Orthodox bishop has publicly criticized the government’s handling of the recent nationwide searches targeting former high-ranking officials, comparing the approach to the methods used by the Bolsheviks in the early 20th century. In a post published Saturday on social media, Metropolitan Anton of Vani and Baghdati said he … Read more
TBILISI, October 18 – Georgia’s political scene was thrown into turmoil on Friday after law enforcement agencies carried out simultaneous searches at 22 locations across the country, including the homes of former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, former State Security Service head Grigol Liluashvili, and former Chief Prosecutor Otar Partskhaladze. According to the Ministry of Internal … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–After Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili returned to public politics in late December, everyone in Georgia expected major upheavals in the government, although only a small number of commentators predicted dismissal of the prime minister. However, this became clear on Sunday, when the pro-government TV company Imedi reported that the chairman of Georgian Dream … Read more
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, whom the opposition and Western politicians often accuse of populist rhetoric, said during his speech in the parliament Friday that government saved the country from “Ukrainization“, and reiterated the narrative of conspiracy to drag Georgia into a war against Russia. “The real danger facing our country today is the […] conspiracy … Read more
The organizers of a pro-EU rally in central Tbilisi, where thousands of people gathered to say that Brussels’ refusal to grant Georgia candidate status was the result of the Georgian Dream government’s misguided policies, demand the resignation of government and PM Irakli Gharibashvili. The PM will resign within a week and a government of national … Read more