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, July 4 – Europe’s liberal party alliance ALDE has adopted a sharply critical resolution on Georgia, calling for targeted sanctions against people it says are responsible for human rights violations, democratic backsliding and political repression. The resolution was adopted Saturday at the ALDE congress in Vienna, according to Interpressnews, which cited information from Georgian … Read more
TBILISI, December 19 – A leading figure in Georgia’s opposition “Coalition for Change,” Zurab Japaridze, was released from Rustavi No. 12 penitentiary on Friday, December 19, after serving a seven month sentence. Japaridze was arrested on May 22 inside a courtroom. He had been summoned to appear before a temporary parliamentary investigative commission to give … 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–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
Three opposition political parties in Georgia – Strategy Agmashenebeli, Girchi – More Freedom and Droa – establish “a pro-European coalition”, the goal of which is to oust Georgian Dream and solicit getting the EU candidate status by the country. “There is no other way, and our western partners are waiting for it, but first of … Read more
A couple dozen people, mostly gym employees and libertarian opposition party Girchi members, rallied in front of Georgian government in Tbilisi Tuesday demanding re-opening gyms. Protesters say they don’t understand why they are forbidden to exercise and expect explanation from government. “This ban damages people’s health more than the virus could have done,” Girchi member … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–The ruling GD party in Georgia rejects a decision by the Constitutional Court to abolish punishment for marijuana use, arguing that the ruling creates a ‘legal vacuum’ that the government pledges to fill.
The Constitutional Court on Monday
TBILISI, DFWatch–Members of an opposition party in the former Soviet republic of Georgia will not be prosecuted for planting cannabis in their office on New Year’s Eve because the saplings contained too little of the forbidden narcotic substance.
The New Year’s Eve pot
TBILISI, DFWatch–Leaders of a small libertarian party in the former Soviet republic Georgia ask authorities to hold them to account after a marijuana planting stunt four days ago meant to force a softening of the country’s drug policy.
So far, the activists have not