TBILISI, October 9 – Georgia’s Public Defender has rejected a claim by the lawyer of prisoner Giorgi Davitadze that an ombudsman representative advised him against undergoing a forensic examination. In a statement Friday, the Public Defender’s Office said the lawyer’s account was false and urged Davitadze’s side to stop spreading what it described as misinformation … Read more
TBILISI, October 6 – A prisoner of Rustavi prison No. 6 who claims he was physically abused has begun a hunger strike as a sign of protest. Giorgi Davitadze, who claims he was sexually abused in December 2025, swallowed three metal objects last weekend, and refuses medical treatment. His mother, Irma Davitadze, said Monday that … Read more
TBILISI, September 21 – Georgia’s ombudsman says the court failed to establish a terrorism purpose when it handed a 13 year prison sentence to Aleko Elisashvili last July. The statement improves the opposition politician’s standing in an upcoming appeal hearing. The long prison sentence was issued last July, for an incident in November, 2025, during … Read more
TBILISI, April 14 – The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, met non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Tbilisi on Tuesday, discussing protests, detainees and recent legal changes. Interpressnews reported that the commissioner met representatives of civic society, including Transparency International Georgia, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association and the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics. … Read more
TBILISI, March 10 – A delegation of parliamentarians from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) ended its visit with a blunt message: the country has a dialogue problem, democracy needs real competition, and the mission was denied access to detainees. On Tuesday morning, Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili met OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President … Read more
TBILISI, March 8 – Georgia’s Public Defender marked International Women’s Day on Sunday with a fresh warning that women in the country still face serious threats, from deadly violence at home to unequal treatment in working life. In a statement issued for March 8, Ombudsman Levan Ioseliani said the day remains closely tied to the … Read more
TBILISI, October 13 – Georgia’s Public Defender, Levan Ioseliani, has sharply criticized the owner of a popular gym chain after the business refused to serve a Russian citizen. Ioseliani said the country’s laws prohibit discrimination on any grounds, including nationality. The dispute began after a Russian citizen filed a complaint on September 19, claiming that … Read more
TBILISI, August 27 – With local elections a little over a month away, Georgia’s public defender, Levan Ioseliani, has called on political parties and politicians to avoid hate speech. He warned that both insults and slander are creeping into the campaign, though he did not cite specific cases, saying he will make an assessment closer … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–In the remote high-altitude villages of southwestern Georgia, youngsters are leaving while remaining residents have to deal with limited internet access, sparse infrastructure, and regulatory hurdles. Many young people are leaving settlements like Ghorjomi and Didachara in search of work, while those who remain struggle with poor communications networks and unresolved land registration issues, … Read more