religious discrimination

Jehovah’s Witnesses recorded 51 cases of discrimination in 2015

By | August 18th, 2016|Categories: Minorities, News|Tags: , , |

A lawyer for Jehovah’s Witnesses wondered why police were not using recordings from the surveillance cameras they have installed. (Rustavi 2.) Some of the discrimination occurs when members try to hand out flyers in the streets. (Interpressnews.) Problems getting a construction permit for a new congregation house in Terjola is one of the cases mentioned in the U.S. State Department’s report. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–On November 23 last year, shots were fired at a building used by Jehovah’s Witnesses in Vazisubani, a district in the Georgian capital Tbilisi. When bullets slammed into the building again one week later, a lawyer representing the religious community wondered […]

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Georgia’s religious minorities file lawsuit with Constitutional Court

By | October 15th, 2015|Categories: Minorities|Tags: |

Christmas Mass in the Catholic Church in Tbilisi. (DF Watch.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Eight religious organizations in Georgia have filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court, demanding to get rid of legislation that provide beneficial tax terms for the Orthodox Church. Georgia’s Tax Code, as well as an agreement between […]

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Georgian government official gives details about UN committee’s work

By | August 4th, 2014|Categories: Minorities, News|Tags: |

Surb Etchmiadzin Church in Tbilisi, where priests were attacked by a crowd last month. TBILISI, DFWatch–A government official in Georgia has provided details about the internal work of a United Nations committee tasked with overseeing the human rights situation in member countries. Levan Isakhanyan, Head of the Department of Legal Affairs, Relations […]

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Jehova’s Witnesses still under pressure in Georgia

By | June 29th, 2014|Categories: Minorities, News|Tags: , |

Jehova’s Witnesses praying in Khobi, Georgia. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Jehovah’s Witnesses in Georgia continue to be under pressure as another community denies the establishment of a prayer house. This time, it is locals in Terjola, a town in Imereti, western Georgia, who refuse to allow another community […]

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Georgians are split on minorities issues

By | May 6th, 2014|Categories: Minorities, News|Tags: , |

Demonstrators against accepting homosexuality, Tbilisi, May 17, 2013. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The latest survey of public attitudes, published by National Democratic Institute (NDI), shows that Georgians are split in their views on the need to protect minorities. When it comes to protection of gays, lesbians and other sexual minorities, […]

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Planned funding scheme for religious groups is discriminatory

By | April 8th, 2014|Categories: Opinion|Tags: , |

Sarah Delys is a Criminologist working at Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center. Late January the Government of Georgia adopted a resolution which enables the financing of four traditional religious confessions: the Roman Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, and Muslim and Jewish groups. Until now, the Georgian Orthodox Church was the […]

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Bullying in schools is a persistent problem in Georgia

By | April 6th, 2014|Categories: Minorities, News|Tags: , |

Bullying on religious grounds is a big problem in schools in Georgia, according to the human rights group EMC. (Ministry of Education.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A human rights group in Georgia warns of an alarming trend of intolerance of religious minorities in public schools. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) studied eight schools in Tbilisi and found that the Ministry of Education has not […]

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Georgia creates new agency for religious issues

By | February 19th, 2014|Categories: Minorities, News|Tags: , , , |

Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The government in Georgia is planning to create a new agency that will work on religious issues. Minister of Reconciliation and Equality Paata Zakareishvili on Tuesday explained that the new body will implement a recent initiative by the government […]

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HRW highlights recent attacks on minorities in Georgia

By | January 22nd, 2014|Categories: Minorities, News|Tags: , , , |

A crowd of thousands led by Orthodox priests on May 17, 2013, violently disrupted a peaceful demonstration to mark the International Day Against Homophobia. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Human Rights Watch criticizes Georgia in its World Report 2014 for not having done enough to protect the rights of religious minorities and LGBT. When it comes to religious rights, the organization points out that the Muslim minority has experienced […]

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New details may help find who attacked Jehova’s Witnesses

By | January 14th, 2014|Categories: Minorities, News|Tags: , |

Police in Georgia have new information which may help in finding those who attacked a gathering of Jehova’s Witnesses in Ozurgeti on January 1, 2014. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–New details might help police find out who attacked Jehovah’s Witnesses in Ozurgeti two weeks ago. In the attack, which took place on January 1, strangers broke the windows of a car the Witnesses were sitting in and threw stones at the building where […]

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Jehovah’s Witnesses attacked in Ozurgeti

By | January 3rd, 2014|Categories: Minorities, News|Tags: , |

TBILISI, DFWatch–January 1, unknown persons attacked a gathering of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Ozurgeti. According to local media in the Guria region, the assailants broke the windows of a car the Jehovah’s Witnesses were sitting in and threw stones at the building where they […]

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Group criticizes Georgia for handling of religious conflicts

By | December 23rd, 2013|Categories: Minorities, News|Tags: , , , , |

Muslims praying in Samtatskaro. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–After a year of religious conflict in three Georgian villages, neither Christians nor Muslims are fully satisfied with the way the problem was solved. The Christians do not exclude that conflict might erupt again, while the Muslims still have no […]

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Georgia introduces law against discrimination

By | December 18th, 2013|Categories: Minorities, News|Tags: , , |

Minister of Justice Thea Tsulukiani. (Photo published by the Justice Ministry.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian Ministry of Justice has prepared a draft law on anti-discrimination. The proposal aims at eliminating all forms of discrimination, Justice Minister Thea Tsulukiani explained as she met human rights organizations, representatives of […]

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Increasing discrimination of religious minorities in Georgia

By | December 8th, 2013|Categories: Minorities, News|Tags: , , , |

A Jehova’s Witnesses book stand on Freedom Square, Tbilisi. (DF Watch.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A human rights group claims there has been an increase in discrimination of religious minorities in Georgia in 2013. On November 15, Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Kingdom Hall, located in Upper Etseri, Samegrelo, West Georgia, was shot at twice. […]

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Two fined for interrupting Hanukkah celebration in Tbilisi

By | December 6th, 2013|Categories: Minorities, News|Tags: , |

Tbilisi City Court. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Tbilisi City Court has fined two persons who tore down posters announcing Hanukkah. Wednesday night, two people tore down the posters and damaged the tribune that had been prepared for the Jewish holiday Hanukkah. They were fined 100 lari (USD 60) […]

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Minaret conflict in Chela, Georgia, still unresolved

By | November 12th, 2013|Categories: Minorities, News|Tags: , |

The minaret is still in storage outside Chela, while locals hope the government will solve the conflict. (DF Watch.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The conflict over a minaret that was dismantled in a small Georgian village is far from over. Locals are continuing their fight to have the minaret restored, and claim that the guarantee of freedom of religion in the Georgian Constitution supports […]

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Demonstrations continue after dismantling of minaret

By | August 28th, 2013|Categories: News|Tags: , |

The Public Defender calls for an immediate investigation of the violence during a demonstration against the dismantling of a minaret in southern Georgia. (Samkhretis Karibche.) TBILISI, DFWatch–All the people detained while protesting against the dismantling of a minaret at a Mosque in the village Chela, in southern Georgia, have now been released. Meanwhile, the protests continue in the village and support rallies are held in the capital […]

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Gamgebeli detained in village where minaret was dismantled

By | August 28th, 2013|Categories: News|Tags: , |

In Chela, where a minaret was recently taken down from the local mosque, the head of the local government has been detained. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Police in Georgia on Tuesday detained the head of the local government in Adigeni in the south of the country, where a minaret of mosque was recently dismantled. Gamgebeli Simon Parunashvili, who is member of the National Movement, is charged with […]

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Saakashvili calls for measures to prevent religious strife

By | August 28th, 2013|Categories: News|Tags: |

President Mikheil Saakashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–President Mikheil Saakashvili has asked the Ivanishvili government for a dialogue to discuss how to establish ‘civil peace’ after the dismantling of a minaret, but the government rejected the idea, and the vice premier said there have never been […]

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Muslims detained for protesting dismantling of minaret in Georgia

By | August 27th, 2013|Categories: Society|Tags: |

Police in Chela, Adigeni. (Samkhretis Karibche.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The local municipality in the village Chela in Adigeni in Georgia has started to dismantle the minaret of a mosque, which has caused concern of Muslims. The police was at the site of the minaret from morning and prohibiting local Muslims from […]

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Muslim leader leaves Kakheti village as conflict continues

By | July 10th, 2013|Categories: Society|Tags: , , |

Suliko Khozrevanidze says he left until the situation calms down a bit. (ICK.ge.) TBILISI, DFWatch–In a village in east Georgia, a prominent Muslim has left because of the religious conflict that has been developing over the last month. Now Hajji Suliko Khozrevanidze, a leading figure in the Muslim community in Samtatskaro in the Kakheti region, […]

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Muslims afraid to attend Friday prayer in Kakheti village

By | July 6th, 2013|Categories: Society|Tags: , |

Friday prayer in Samtatskaro, a village in the Kakheti region in eastern Georgia. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–In the village Samtatskharo in eastern Georgia, Friday prayers went ahead without incident yesterday, but the Muslims who live in the village stayed away because of threats. Only Muslims from other areas and guests from the government attended […]

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Minorities will be protected, Ivanishvili assures

By | July 3rd, 2013|Categories: News|Tags: , |

Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. (DFWatch photo.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili says the government will protect minorities in the country through legal ways, but not ‘artificially.’ At a monthly press conference at Metechi Palace Hotel Wednesday, Ivanishvili also addressed the issue […]

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Groups call on authorities to prevent religous conflict in Georgia

By | June 30th, 2013|Categories: NGO news|Tags: |

Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Groups in Georgia call on the government to settle the religious conflict in a Kakheti village and ensure the safety of Muslims. The groups are backed up by the Public Defender in their call for Interior Minister Irakli Gharibashvili to take immediate action to avoid […]

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Locals beat wife of Hajji in Kakheti village

By | June 29th, 2013|Categories: News|Tags: , |

Suliko Khozrevanidze. (ICK.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Locals attacked and beat the wife of the Hajji in the village Samtatskharo Friday, only weeks after the religious conflict there seemed to have been solved. Locals had earlier prevented Muslims from conducting Friday prayer for three weeks, but the […]

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Georgia introduces new law to protect minorities

By | June 17th, 2013|Categories: News|Tags: , |

Justice Minister Thea Tsulukiani. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The government in Georgia is planning to introduce a law aimed at protecting the rights of religious, sexual, ethnic and other minorities in the country and avoid discrimination. Speaking at Courtyard Marriott Hotel in Tbilisi, Justice Minister Thea […]

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Friday prayer goes ahead in Georgian village after tension

By | June 15th, 2013|Categories: Society|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch–The Friday prayer in Samtatskharo, a village in eastern Georgia, went ahead as normal without interruptions yesterday, after being canceled three weeks in a row due to protests by locals. Minister of Reintegration Paata Zakareishvili showed up […]

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200 locals gathered to prevent Friday prayers

By | June 8th, 2013|Categories: Society|Tags: |

200 locals in Samtatskharo gathered outside the prayer house, determined to prevent Friday prayers. (Georgian Public Broadcaster.) TBILISI, DFWatch–Friday prayers were disrupted by locals yesterday in a village in eastern Georgia. About 200 locals had gathered in the village Samtatskharo in the Kakheti region in order to prevent Muslims from praying in a house that has been purchased for this […]

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Soldiers detained for harassment on religious grounds

By | April 19th, 2013|Categories: News|Tags: |

Locals in Tsikhisdziri after the incident. (TV9.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Prosecutor’s Office in Georgia has published details of the military employees who a few days ago harassed and physically abused people on religious grounds. According to a statement issued on Thursday, Onise Khabulava, Chairman […]

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