TBILISI, November 7 – Georgia’s opposition leaders and their lawyers pushed back Friday after prosecutors opened criminal proceedings against eight opposition figures, including former president Mikheil Saakashvili, on counts ranging from “sabotage” to aiding a foreign power’s hostile activity. The Prosecutor General’s Office has also asked a Tbilisi court to set bail for Lelo party … Read more
TBILISI, October 3 – With just two days to go before Georgia’s local elections, mayoral candidates in Tbilisi went head-to-head in a fiery televised debate Thursday night that showcased the country’s deep political divides. The debate, broadcast on the public broadcaster’s Channel 1, brought together nine registered candidates, including incumbent mayor and ruling Georgian Dream … Read more
TBILISI, September 6 – Two of Georgia’s best-known opposition figures, Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, walked free on Friday, after being pardoned by President Mikheil Kavelashvili. Both men are leading figures in the Lelo party, and had been serving prison sentences since June for defying a parliamentary investigation into the country’s turbulent political past. Their … Read more
TBILISI, August 6 – An opposition party in Georgia says its bank account has been seized, in what it claims is political retaliation linked to the scandal surrounding Germany’s ambassador. Lelo party secretary general Irakli Kupradze said the National Bureau of Enforcement, under the Ministry of Justice, had notified the party of the freeze. He … Read more
TBILISI, August 5 – Georgia’s Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday evening sharply criticized the landlord of German Ambassador Peter Fischer over tax irregularities—fueling ongoing political controversy involving the high-profile diplomat. The comments marked another escalation in the Georgian Dream (GD) government’s public campaign against Ambassador Fischer, whom senior officials accuse of sympathizing with opposition … Read more
TBILISI, August 4 – Mamuka Khazaradze, the jailed leader of Georgia’s opposition party Lelo, issued a sharp rebuke of the ruling Georgian Dream party on Monday, accusing it of using a smear campaign to target both his family and Germany’s ambassador, Peter Fischer. In a statement from prison, Khazaradze defended the lease agreement under which … Read more
TBILISI, August 3 – Georgia’s ruling party leaders have accused Germany’s ambassador of violating diplomatic protocol by living in a property owned by the family of an opposition politician. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Vice Speaker of Parliament Gia Volski have both validated claims in local media that the ambassador’s residence is an informal rental … Read more
TBILISI, July 31 – The Georgian government has scored a major victory in its long-running Anaklia deep-sea port dispute, as the it wins an arbitration case, confirming it was in its right to terminate the project. The ruling by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington dismissed claims filed by Bob Meijer … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Three oppsition figures are currently in pre-trial detention, raising concerns about the political situation ahead of the local elections scheduled for October 4. The three jailed opposition politicians are Zurab Japaridze, Nika Melia, and Nika Gvaramia. All three are from the opposition coalition “For Change” – one of four election alliances that took part … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch – The opposition party demands the establishment of a visa regime, a ban on the entry of cars with Russian license plates and other strict measures in order to prevent the “invasion of Russians in Georgia”. For this, the Lelo, political party founded by entrepreneur Mamuka Khazaradze, submitted Monday “Protect Georgia Act” to … Read more