violent episodes in 2012 election

Video shows armed attack on voting precinct

By | October 5th, 2012|Categories: Elections, Elections '12-'13, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch — A video was publishedThursday showing a person wearing a mask breaking into one of the election precincts in Khashuri, a small town in eastern Georgia. On election day Monday, there were reports about special units breaking into several precincts […]

Backlash after prison abuse scandal: Study

By | September 30th, 2012|Categories: NGO news|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch — After a series of videos were released September 19, documenting torture of prisoners, more than 40 activists were put in administrative detention, an old Soviet-style form of punishment. The finding is part of in a new study by three non-governmental […]

Run-up to Georgia poll marred by violence

By | September 29th, 2012|Categories: NGO news|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) is concerned about the increase in violent incidents and arrests possibly on political grounds. After a prison abuse scandal shook Georgia last week, which led to society paying a lot of […]

Young lawyers: Government websites misused

By | September 8th, 2012|Categories: NGO news|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) says the websites of local governments are being used to help the party in power, United National Movement (UNM). According to GYLA, the fact that these web sites publish information about UNM’s […]

ISFED finds that violations are on the rise

By | September 5th, 2012|Categories: NGO news|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – A new survey shows that there has been a worrying trend in the election campaign in Georgia with a growing number of violations. International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) presented their fifth monitoring report. ISFED studied […]

Activists of the ruling party are distributing products to citizens

By | September 2nd, 2012|Categories: Elections, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – People dressed in National Movement t-shirts are handing out gifts to people Telavi, a town in eastern Georgia. They give them 10 kg of flour, 5 kg of pasta, a bottle of oil and 2 pieces of washing powder. According to the Informational Center of […]

Democracy groups in Georgia go on the offensive

By | August 30th, 2012|Categories: Elections, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgian National Platform, a coalition of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), has released a statement regarding the period leading up to the parliamentary election. The National Platform was set up in October 2010 with a goal to support […]

Bribery of a voter in eastern Georgia

By | August 30th, 2012|Categories: NGO news|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – A group working on election fairness demands that a case of bribery in one of the regions of Georgia is investigated. International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) calls on law enforcement bodies to investigate a case of bribery in […]

Report documents violations in Georgian election campaign

By | August 22nd, 2012|Categories: NGO news|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – A new report reveals cases of violence, pressure and illegal usage of administrative resources in the election period. International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) found two cases of people being firing because of their political […]

Georgian opposition asks world to react to election violations

By | August 15th, 2012|Categories: Elections, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgian Dream, the strongest competitor to the party of Presidential Mikheil Saakashvili, calls on foreign diplomats and international organizations in Tbilisi to react ‘correctly and adequately’ regarding ongoing political processes in Georgia. […]

War refugees chased TV team out of village

By | August 9th, 2012|Categories: News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – Refugees from the 2008 Russia-Georgia war forced a journalist from Maestro TV to leave their settlement by throwing stones at her. Khurvaleti is a small village in Gori municipality, where there are cottages for refugees from the Tskhinvali war four […]

Who is to blame for election violence in Georgia?

By | August 6th, 2012|Categories: Elections, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – In Georgia, the government’s main competitor, Georgian Dream, claims that they support fair and free elections and accuses the government of attempting to provoke civil confrontation. Georgian Dream released this statement on Monday as a response […]

Policeman threatens cousin with gun over politics

By | August 4th, 2012|Categories: In brief, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – A police employee threatened his cousin with a gun because he was a member of the opposition Georgian Dream coalition. Georgian Dream representatives told DF Watch that the incident took place in the village Orulu near the town Zugdidi in the […]

Saakashvili supporters prevent Ivanishvili from addressing crowd

By | August 4th, 2012|Categories: News|Tags: , |

TBILISI, DFWatch – Activists for the governing party Saturday prevented President Saakashvili’s main opponent, Bidzina Ivanishvili, from meeting with the population in a small mountain village in the Adjara region, in the southwest of Georgia. Journalists are reporting […]

Georgian Olympic athlete let down due to opposition sympathies

By | August 3rd, 2012|Categories: News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – A Georgian athlete says he might have been subject to political harassment at the London Olympics. July 28, the Georgian sportsman Betkil Shukvani lost against an Australian in a judo match and then unexpectedly left the Olympics […]

Bank account frozen because of opposition sympathies

By | August 1st, 2012|Categories: News|Tags: , |

TBILISI, DFWatch – Another opposition sympathizer in Georgia has had his bank account frozen. By decision of Tbilisi City Court, all bank accounts belonging to former Deputy Security Minister Lasha Natsvlishvili were seized. Currently, Natsvlishvili is not a member […]

Opposition activists accuse bank of tampering with accounts

By | July 30th, 2012|Categories: News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – A member of the Georgian Dream coalition’s campaign team Monday started a rally in front of Bank of Georgia in Lanchkhuti, a small town in the western Guria region. Shota Pirtskhalaishvili is one of over twenty opposition campaigners who claim that […]

Channel 9 journalist blackmailed

By | July 30th, 2012|Categories: News|Tags: , |

TBILISI, DFWatch – The Georgian Ombudsman says the blackmailing of a journalist working for the opposition affiliated Channel 9 TV contains the signs of a crime. Journalist Nodar Chachua, who used to work for one of the three pro-government channels, says he was […]

Georgia’s embassy in U.S. engaged in election campaigning

By | July 28th, 2012|Categories: NGO news|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – Transparency International Georgia asks the country’s foreign ministry not to let the diplomatic service be used for political means. According to information provided by TI, the Georgian embassy in the United States is sending out e-mails […]

Woman dragged away from cameras and locked in a cellar

By | July 25th, 2012|Categories: News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – An elderly woman who tried to approach President Saakashvili to tell him about her family’s problems, ended up being dragged away from the TV cameras and locked in a cellar Tuesday. The incident happened in Tsaishi, a village near […]

Government proposes non-use of violence in election campaign

By | July 16th, 2012|Categories: News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – The Georgian government calls for political parties to commit to not use or incite violence during this year’s election process. The declaration submitted for parties to sign commits them to not use violence, nor call for violence or voice […]

Police to provide security at campaign events

By | July 14th, 2012|Categories: In brief, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – The Georgian government is to start providing police security during opposition campaign events. The opposition Georgian Dream was Thursday driven out of the village Karaleti by a stone-throwing crowd. 13 people were hospitalised, […]

Former Milan player Kakhi Kaladze’s bodyguard arrested

By | July 14th, 2012|Categories: News|Tags: , |

TBILISI, DFWatch – Police in Georgia say they have arrested five suspects after violent clashes between government supporters and opposition activists Thursday led to thirteen people being hospitalized. Among them is the bodyguard of former AC Milan […]

More violent incidents during Georgian election campaign

By | July 14th, 2012|Categories: NGO news|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – An employee of a public library who was fired in June claims the reason was her political opinion. She openly says she sympathizes with the opposition Georgian Dream party established by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili. The library’s director, […]

2008 war becomes topic in Georgian election campaign

By | June 27th, 2012|Categories: News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – A scuffle broke out Tuesday while opposition billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili was campaigning in a small village near Gori. His opposition Georgian Dream movement says the scuffle was caused by pro-government vigilantes, but the ruling party says […]