TBILISI, October 5 – Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze says growing outside pressure since 2022 pushed the government toward tougher measures in order to defend the country’s sovereignty, ultimately making Georgia more independent. Speaking on Imedi TV’s Open Air programme on Saturday, Kobakhidze said it had been much harder in earlier years to withstand outside … Read more
TBILISI, September 21 – Georgia’s parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday ruled out the possibility of the country joining the European Union without Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgian government control in the 1990s during the breakup of the Soviet Union. Russia recognized both as independent states following the … Read more
TBILISI, July 10 – A high-profile “sabotage” trial against eight Georgian opposition figures is moving quickly through Tbilisi City Court, with prosecutors citing witness testimony and an audio recording, while the defendants call the case political persecution. The prosecution’s claim is that opposition leaders tried to urge protesters to break through police barriers and into … Read more
TBILISI, May 27 – Georgia’s opposition used Independence Day to launch a new anti-government campaign, but Tuesday’s rally failed to show broad popular support. Supporters of the Opposition Alliance began gathering outside the first building of Tbilisi State University at 7pm on Tuesday, marking the beginning of the second half of Georgia’s national day events. … Read more
TBILISI, March 26 – A U.S. State Department envoy met with the Georgian opposition on Thursday, on a trip that also includes contacts with the government, the private sector and civil society groups. The visiting official was identified as Peter Andreoli, the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. According to Interpressnews, the … Read more
TBILISI, March 7 – Georgia’s newly formed Opposition Alliance moved this week from launch mode into organization mode, holding meetings on protest strategy, non-recognition of the government’s legitimacy, and coordination with civil society groups. The alliance was announced last Sunday, March 2, by a group of opposition parties that said they had agreed on a … Read more
TBILISI, March 4 – A group of Georgian opposition parties announced a new political alliance on Monday, saying they have signed a joint document to coordinate their next steps in the country’s bitter political standoff. One of the alliance’s public faces, Nika Gvaramia, a leader of the Coalition for Change, told reporters after a meeting … Read more
TBILISI, February 12 – Georgian opposition figure and media executive Nika Gvaramia was released from prison on Thursday after serving an eight-month sentence. Gvaramia, one of the leaders of the opposition Coalition for Change and former director of TV companies Rustavi 2 and Mtavari Arkhi, left a prison facility in Rustavi after completing his term, … Read more
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, DFWatch–Opposition figure and TV director Nika Gvaramia was detained in Tbilisi today, sparking an outcry among supporters. The arrest followed shortly after a court session, where it was decided to revoke Gvaramia’s bail and converting it into imprisonment. The judge justified this as a response to his alleged violation of bail conditions. Prosecutors argued … Read more