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Former Prime Minister from the Georgian Dream party, Irakli Garibashvili, has been charged with money laundering but has not been detained, while Georgia already has more than 150 political prisoners, including individuals jailed for minor offenses such as possessing a medical mask or causing damages under 400 USD. The Prosecutor’s Office has requested a bail …
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In the past two days, 14 people have been arrested under the new repressive laws enacted against the protest. According to a statement released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) on October 21, initials of 13 people detained over the past two days for “violating the rules of holding an assembly or demonstration” are: …
Formula TV journalist Tsira Zhvania has been arrested on allegations of “blocking the road” during protests on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi. “Two police officers were waiting for me near my home. We waited 20 minutes for the patrol crew. They just arrived – apparently, I’m being detained for blocking the road,” Zhvania wrote. Zhvania is …
64-year-old Kote (Konstantine) Kokaia, arrested in connection with the October 4 events, has written a letter to his daughter from prison describing the conditions of his detention. According to him, he has lost vision in one eye, requires medical attention, but has not been taken to a doctor. The conditions he describes indicate serious violations …
Film director Giorgi Tavartkiladze, who voluntarily went to the police and stated that he had blocked the road, was not detained. According to his lawyer, Nika Simonishvili, Tavartkiladze was questioned at the police station. “Director Giorgi Tavartkiladze went to the police station on his own and said: ‘I blocked the road – arrest me like …
Over 30 media outlets express solidarity with journalist Vakho Sanaia. On October 19, police detained Vakho Sanaia, a journalist and anchor at Formula TV. The court sentenced him to six days of administrative detention on charges of blocking a road. The full statement reads: “On October 19, Formula TV journalist Vakho Sanaia was detained and …
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Formula TV issues a statement regarding the detention of journalist Keta Tsitskishvili. According to the statement, Formula TV views the recent escalation in harassment of journalists as an attack on independent media, aimed at suppressing critical voices. “On October 20, the regime’s police detained another Formula anchor, journalist Keta Tsitskishvili, allegedly for participating in a …
“Formula TV” journalist Keta Tsitskishvili is reportedly being detained. She wrote about it herself: “They’ve come for me too! The police showed up! If they think they can scare me, my family, or any of my friends – they’re wrong. In the end, we will still win,” Tsitskishvili wrote, asking her grandparents not to worry. …
Continue reading “Another Journalist Arrested in New Wave of Detentions Targeting Daily Protests”
Members of the For Georgia party, founded by former Prime Minister from Georgian Dream Party (2019-2021) Giorgi Gakharia, plan to take up their parliamentary mandates. The announcement was made today, October 20, by party member Giorgi Sharashidze during a briefing. According to him, refusing to use the parliamentary and municipal platforms – especially in this …
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Sixteen more people have been arrested on October 17 in connection with the events of October 4, bringing the total number of detainees to 62. The announcement was made by Georgia’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Gela Geladze, representing the ruling Georgian Dream party. “Today we arrested 16 additional individuals. As of now, a total of …
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According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, searches were conducted at the homes of former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, former Head of the State Security Service Grigol Liluashvili, former Prosecutor General Otar Partskhaladze, and eight other individuals connected to them. The announcement was made at a briefing by Prosecutor General Giorgi Gvaramidze. “Within the framework of …
On October 14 in Brussels, five Members of the European Parliament co-hosted a discussion titled “Freedom Behind Bars: Standing with Mzia Amaglobeli and Georgia’s Pro-Democracy Movement.” Following the opening remarks by the MEPs, the floor was given to Amaglobeli’s colleagues and her international lawyers. The event also featured addresses from Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zourabichvili, …
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On October 10, the ruling Georgian Dream [GD] party held a special briefing devoted to journalist Mzia Amaglobeli receiving the 2025 IPI–IMS World Press Freedom Hero Award. During the briefing, GD once again spread disinformation about Amaglobeli’s case, distorting key facts. “The decision to give Mzia Amaglobeli this hero’s award is a continuation of the unfair …
On October 9, in Tbilisi, police detained 71-year-old pediatrician and professor Giorgi Chakhunashvili at his home. Later that evening, around 10 p.m., his son, Kote Chakhunashvili, wrote on Facebook that police had entered his father’s apartment. Soon after, journalists and protesters gathered outside the residence but found the door locked. Within about 30 minutes, police …
A man draped in the tricolor flag of Georgia has become one of the symbolic flagbearers of the Batumi protests — a familiar figure to nearly everyone attending the rallies. “My name is Zurab Chavchanidze, I’m 58 years old, and I’m from Sokhumi. This flag is inseparable from me; it’s from Sokhumi, dating back to …
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Flagbearer of the Batumi protests, Zurab Chavchanidze, has been arrested. According to information provided to Batumelebi, the flagbearer was detained today, October 8, in Batumi. Witnesses say around ten police officers participated in the arrest. Batumelebi has learned that Zurab Chavchanidze has been transferred to Tbilisi. Chavchanidze attended the protest in Tbilisi on October 4. …
On October 6, thirteen more people were arrested in connection with the investigation into the October 4 protest. Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, stated that two additional individuals have been declared wanted. According to the United National Movement (UNM), four of the detainees – Aleksandre Khabeishvili, Sergo Megrelishvili, Abo Naveriani, and Kakha Mzhavanadze …
One of the key figures arrested on serious criminal charges in connection with the October 4 events Colonel Lasha Beridze, former Deputy Chief of Joint Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces. Since 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Batumelebi has published several interviews with Lasha Beridze, featuring him as a military analyst. …
On October 5, Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zourabichvili, addressed the public. Responding to the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ statement classifying all gatherings and assemblies as an “attempt to overthrow the government,” she called on people to protect the Rustaveli protest and continue the peaceful demonstrations. According to Zourabichvili, a “Russian special psychological operation” was carried …
The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) claims that a large quantity of firearms, ammunition, and explosives with a detonator has been discovered in connection with October 4 events. According to the SSSG, on the instructions of a Georgian representative of a military unit operating in Ukraine, Georgian citizen B. Ch. acquired a significant amount …
Lekso Burchuladze, son of Paata Burchuladze, told TV Pirveli that he believes the plan was not to storm the Presidential Palace, but that there may have been another plan, possibly involving a peaceful entry – “they would have come over to our side”. He said he feels there was a betrayal from within and called …
All members of the organizing committee of the October 4 rally announced by opera singer and one of the leaders of the Rustaveli Avenue movement, Paata Burchuladze, have been arrested, including Burchuladze himself. They face up to nine years in prison. On October 5, the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued a statement warning that any …
Besarion Alavidze, a former Supreme Court judge now residing abroad, has publicly accused Georgia’s ruling elite, including Bidzina Ivanishvili and the Murusidze-Chinchaladze group, of exerting pressure, issuing threats, and interfering in high-profile court cases. In a video recorded earlier but recently made public, Alavidze discusses previously unknown instances of pressure on judges. Former Supreme Court …
Bidzina Ivanishvili has issued a letter on the 13th anniversary of the Georgian Dream victory in the 2012 elections. “Another test awaits us on October 4,” he writes in the letter, which contains numerous anti-Western messages similar to statements made by his team members. At the same time, Ivanishvili mentions “external enemies” and “agents.” He …
“Georgian Dream” propagandist Zaza Shatirishvili claims that part of the youth is “redundant” and should leave Georgia – “just as the communists left the Basque Country during Franco’s regime”. He praised the Spanish dictator and said that “Georgian Dream” likewise defends religion. Speaking on Radio Sivrtse, Shatirishvili said that many opposition supporters are already emigrating. …
The Armenian Court of Appeals has denied the release of Georgian citizen Giorgi Kinoiani, who is wanted by Russia and faces deportation. “The hearing of Giorgi’s appeal took place without his presence. The court did not grant our request for Giorgi to be released from unlawful detention, where he has already been held for 23 …
This time, the UK Ambassador has been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Gareth Ward, the United Kingdom’s Ambassador to Georgia, is already at the Ministry for the meeting. The Ambassador did not make any comments to the media before entering. Yesterday, on September 24, Germany’s Ambassador to Georgia, Peter Fischer, was also summoned …
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Mzia Amaglobeli, journalist, and founding CEO of Batumelebi and Netgazeti, has been named the recipient of this year’s Forum 2000 International Award for Courage and Responsibility. Forum 2000 is both a foundation and an annual conference held in Prague, Czech Republic. “This year, the award will be presented to the Georgian movement of resistance to …
Germany’s Ambassador to Georgia, Peter Fischer, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, TV Pirveli reported. The channel said it had interviewed the ambassador as he arrived at the ministry. According to the translation published by TV Pirveli, Fischer said he intends to reject what he called “baseless and provocative” accusations voiced …
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On September 20–21, the Black Sea coastline of Adjara experienced an unprecedented surge in water turbidity, signaling a severe ecological crisis. According to marine biologist and ecologist Archil Guchmanidze, measurements taken with specialized instruments showed turbidity levels of 2,650 NTU — a level never before recorded in the Black Sea. For context, anything above 50 …
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Despite an agreement reached at the beginning of 2025 between Azerbaijan and Georgia to resume train services between the two countries from May 28, overland travel remains suspended due to Azerbaijan’s closed land borders. There is no information on when these borders might reopen. Official Reason for the Closure Azerbaijan closed its land borders with …
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“You will see with your own eyes on October 4, 2025, how many Ministry of Internal Affairs officers will switch sides and stand with the public,” says Irakli Shaishmelashvili, a former senior official of the Special Tasks Department, who now lives in the United States. In an interview with Batumelebi, Shaishmelashvili discusses the internal dynamics …
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Opposition politician Elene Khoshtaria, leader of Droa party and a member of the Coalition for Change, has been arrested after writing “Russian Dream” on Kakha Kaladze’s election banner on Melikishvili Street, Tbilisi. The Ministry of Internal Affairs said the investigation was launched following a complaint from the ruling Georgian Dream party, citing Article 187 of …
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In the 2025 local self-government elections, Batumi has five mayoral candidates: Tamar Mikeladze [Homeland, Language, Faith]; Zviad Kvirikadze [Our United Georgia]; Gocha Gugunava [For Georgia – Gakharia]; Giorgi Tsintsadze [Georgian Dream]; and Kakha Tsiskaridze [Independent Candidate]. Although less than four weeks remain before the elections, pre-election campaigning in Batumi, as across the entire country, is …
Continue reading “Georgia’s Local Elections: Crisis, Boycotts, and No ODIHR Watch”
The Ministry of Internal Affairs announced on September 10 that three people had been detained over the clashes of September 8 and protest of September 9 on Melikishvili Avenue in Tbilisi. Two of them are Georgian Dream activists accused of violence, while the third is a pro-European protester who spray-painted “Russian Dream” on Kakha Kaladze’s …
Georgian emigrants have launched a movement called Mzia, inspired by imprisoned journalist Mzia Amaglobeli to unite all of today’s political prisoners under one symbol, strengthen resistance against the ruling regime, mobilize supporters at home and abroad, and create a unified agenda for freedom. The Mzia List is a key component of this effort. Koki Ionatamishvili …
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