Batumelebi&Netgazeti
News and analysis on Georgia, the Caucasus region, and beyond | Based in Batumi and Tbilisi, Georgia.
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- 🟥 GD has passed another set of repressive legislative amendments at first reading. 🆘 It expand the definition of “grant”, placing almost any form of political expression under state control and criminalizing it if an individual receives funding from a "foreign power". #RepressionInGeorgia
- 🟥 The Georgian Dream party has introduced a sweeping new legislative package tightening restrictions on foreign funding, political activity, and public engagement for organizations and individuals in #Georgia. #GeorgiaProtests #RepressionInGeorgia
- 🟥 #UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor calls on the Georgian Dream government to repeal repressive laws 👇 #Georgia #RepressionInGeorgia
- 🟥 On January 26 in #Tbilisi, an employee of the State Security Service’s Anti-Corruption Agency was found dead in their car with a gunshot wound. Prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation under Article 115 of the Criminal Code, covering incitement to suicide. #Georgia
- 🟥 Former Georgian MP Givi Targamadze was released after seven months in prison for refusing to appear before the Tsulukiani Commission. 💢 batumelebi.netgazeti.ge/articles-in-... #RepressionInGeorgia #GeorgiaProtests #georgia
- ⭕️The @echr.coe.int begun a substantive review of the application filed by the GYLA concerning the mass violations of ballot secrecy in #GEOElections2024, the organization announced. #ProtestsInGeorgia
- 🗣️“32,542 GEL, which we were warned about, covered the four-month salaries of 12 staff members,” Radio Marneuli’s founding CEO, Kamila Mamedova. Since April 1, 2025, broadcasters are prohibited from receiving direct or indirect funding from foreign entities. ▶️ batumelebi.netgazeti.ge/articles-in-...
- 🟥 Opposition leader Giorgi Vashadze has left Rustavi No. 12 prison after serving a seven-month sentence. Vashadze was detained in June 2025 for failing to appear before the so-called Tsulukiani Investigative Commission. #RepressionsInGeorgia #GeorgiaProtests
- 🟥 Another precedent has been set at the Tbilisi City Court, where two civil activists were ordered to four days of detention each for protesting on the sidewalk. #GeorgiaProtests #RepressionsInGeorgia #Georgia #Protest
- 🔴 A first precedent has been set regarding sidewalk protest cases. Citizen Rezi Dumbadze was declared to have committed an administrative offense solely for standing on the sidewalk during a protest. ▶️https://batumelebi.netgazeti.ge/articles-in-english/602621/ #GeorgiaProtests #RepressionsInGeorgia
- 🟥 Zurab Girchi Japaridze, one of Georgia’s opposition leaders, recently released from prison and still facing the risk of re-arrest, speaks for you about his prison experience, Georgia, and efforts to unite the opposition. ▶️ Watch the full interview: youtu.be/rU0Dldot-5s?... #GeorgiaProtests
- 🔴"Supporting Georgia’s democratic institutions is the best way bolster the country’s sovereignty against Russian, Chinese, and Iranian nefarious influence, which the Georgian Dream-led government has welcomed," - @jesludwig.bsky.social. 📌 bushcenter.org/publications... #GeorgiaProtests #FreeMzia
- 🟥 @echr.coe.int Rules #Georgia Violated Rights of Protester Detained During 2023 ‘Russian Law’ Rallies Giorgi Mekvabishvili was detained in 2023, when Georgian Dream first initiated the “Russian Law”. His rights were defended by GYLA. #NoToRussianLaw #GeorgiaProtests
- 🟥 “Mzia thanks everyone. She has no expectations and has no information whatsoever regarding a possible pardon… She said, “I’ll see you all in a year,” Malkhaz Amaglobeli, brother of Georgia’s unlawfully imprisoned journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, told journalists. #FreeMzia #RepressionInGeorgia
- 🟥 Kutaisi City Court has sentenced four miners to prison in a case the defendants describe as politically motivated. 📌 The arrests followed an extended period of protests, including a hunger strike and mass demonstrations by miners in Chiatura. #Georgia
- 🔴 After a late-night announcement of Epiphany pardons, Malkhaz Amaglobeli, brother of journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, spent the night outside Prison. It remains unclear whether any prisoners of conscience were among those pardoned. ❌ Officials provided no clarification on release timing. Photo: Mo Se
- 🟥GD–appointed President Mikheil Kavelashvili has pardoned 159 convicted prisoners. It remains unclear whether prisoners of conscience are among them. Since the morning, journalists and family members of political prisoners have been waiting outside various penitentiary facilities. #GeorgiaProtests
- 🟥 Jan 19 - Journalists are outside Rustavi Women’s Penitentiary No. 5. 🟥 GD president Mikheil Kavelashvili is expected to announce pardons today. It’s unclear whether prisoners of conscience will be included. Journalists are waiting near several prisons. #RepressionInGeorgia #Georgia
- 🟥 The trial and conviction of Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli violated her right to a fair trial and constituted an abuse of process, the Clooney Foundation for Justice asserted in a new TrialWatch Fairness Report released today. #FreeMzia ▶️ batumelebi.netgazeti.ge/articles-in-...
- 🟥 GYLA, which represents the interests of journalist Mzia Amaglobeli before the ECHR, has announced that the Court has registered a second application lodged on her behalf. This application concerns her administrative detention and the related proceedings. #FreeMzia
- 🟥 Eka Sepashvili (“People’s Power,” Georgian Dream satellite) says she condemns “violence from any side” in Iran and claims she lacks “extensive information” on who is carrying it out, even when asked about killings by authorities. #Iran #Georgia
- ⭕ The Prosecutor’s Office of #Georgia has reached a plea agreement with Irakli Garibashvili, under which the former prime minister has been sentenced to five years in prison. As an additional penalty, he has been fined 1 million lari.
- 🚨As Jan 11–12 marks one year since the unlawful imprisonment of Georgian journalist and Sakharov Prize 2025 laureate Mzia Amaglobeli, her friends and colleagues have gathered outside the prison in solidarity, demanding her immediate and unconditional release. #FreeMzia #FreePoliticalPrisoners
- 🟥 Three former Georgian defense ministers are in jail: Irakli Okruashvili (2004–2006), Bacho Akhalaia (2009–2012), and Juansher Burchuladze (2021–2024) ⭕️ Irakli Garibashvili (2019–2021) is charged but out on bail; Davit Kezerashvili (2006–2008) was sentenced in absentia and remains wanted. #Georgia
- 🟢 Ex-Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia, who served a nine-year prison sentence under the GD rule, is arrested again. 🔴 The SSSG says the investigative authorities consider him the “main organizer” of the October 4 events. 🟢 What we know👇 ▶️ batumelebi.netgazeti.ge/articles-in-... #GeorgiaProtests
- 🟥 Two political prisoners, known for carrying EU flags, have been on hunger strike in prison for over 40 and 50 days, protesting Georgia’s anti-European turn. 🟥 Meanwhile, #Tbilisi glitters with holiday lights under the slogan “A City Full of Kindness.” #GeorgiaProtests #RepressionInGeorgia
- 🟥Georgia’s first court case over a sidewalk protest has started, with the hearing postponed to January 9. The new repressive amendments, introduced to curb #GeorgiaProtests, make protesting on sidewalks punishable by up to 15 days of administrative detention. ▶️ batumelebi.ge/articles-in-...
- ⭕️The case of jailed Georgian journalist and #SakharovPrize2025 laureate Mzia Amaglobeli has reached the Supreme Court. Her lawyers say she was denied a fair trial at every stage and are seeking to overturn the conviction. #FreeMzia #RepressionInGeorgia ⭕️ batumelebi.netgazeti.ge/articles-in-...
- 🔴 Since December 23, more than ten citizens have been summoned to court on allegations of blocking pedestrian movement. Most hearings are scheduled for December 25–26. #GeorgiaProtests #RepressionInGeorgia batumelebi.netgazeti.ge/articles-in-...
- 🟥Former State Security Service chief Grigol Liluashvili has been arrested on corruption charges, prosecutors say. He is accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes between 2021 and 2023. #Georgia ➡️ batumelebi.netgazeti.ge/articles-in-...
- 🇪🇺 at the #SakharovPrize2025 ceremony in @europarl.europa.eu representatives of laureates — journalists Mzia Amaglobeli and Andrzej Poczobut, unlawfully imprisoned in #Georgia & #Belarus — delivered speeches. Batumelebi journalist Irma Dimitradze read Amaglobeli’s speech written in prison. #FreeMzia
- 🟥 GYLA says the prison administration will finally allow Mzia Amaglobeli to have eye tests at a clinic she selected. Her eyesight has sharply worsened during 11 months of unlawful detention. GYLA recently published her medical history: ➡️https://batumelebi.ge/articles-in-english/598217/ #FreeMzia
- “Mzia Amaglobeli’s vision has significantly worsened since she was placed in the penitentiary facility, reaching an alarming level. Despite numerous requests, she has not received the medical examinations needed to plan her treatment,” reports GYLA. #FreeMzia #JournalismIsNotAcrime
- 🟥 On the night of November 19, police detained up to 15 people during the daily #GeorgiaProtest in #Tbilisi. 🟥 Today, protesters marched in support of 21-year-old musician and prisoner of conscience Mate Devidze, jailed a year ago and sentenced to 4.5 years. #RepressionsInGeorgia
- ⭕️On November 18, the Kutaisi Court of Appeals upheld the Batumi City Court’s verdict sentencing Mzia Amaglobeli to two years in prison. The decision will be appealed to the Supreme Court of #Georgia. #FreeMzia #RepressionInGeorgia ▶️ batumelebi.netgazeti.ge/articles-in-...
- After the Kutaisi Court of Appeals announced that it was upholding journalist Mzia Amaglobeli’s two-year prison sentence, the penitentiary convoy transported her back to Rustavi Prison. #FreeMzia Video: Media Checker & Batumelebi ▶️ batumelebi.netgazeti.ge/articles-in-...
- 🗣️"For us all in this courtroom today, dignity lies in protecting the Constitution of Georgia. Therefore, I call on everyone to fight before it is too late. Because we have an obligation to protect the Constitution. Fight to the end!, " - Journalist Mzia Amaglobeli at the appellate hearing. #FreeMzia
- 🗣️"Mzia is a prisoner of conscience and a prisoner of conscience cannot be guilty', - At the end of her 5-hour speech, lawyer Maia Mtsariashvili concluded her closing statement. ⭕️Court takes a 30-minutes-long break to consider its ruling and will get back with a verdict. #FreeMzia
- 🗣️ At Mzia Amaglobeli’s appellate hearing, lawyer Maia Mtsariashvili highlighted her integrity and lack of influence, urging the court to decide if Georgia is truly a rule-of-law state. #FreeMzia #RepressionsInGeorgia
- 🗣️“This is a case of systemic illegality, systemic violence. ..., a case of whitewashing the system’s unlawful actions,”said Maia Mtsariashvili today during Mzia Amaglobeli’s hearing at the Kutaisi Court of Appeals. ⭕️ Her lawyer is currently delivering the closing argument. #FreeMzia #Georgia
- 🔴 Georgia’s imprisoned journalist and 2025 #SakharovPrize laureate, Mzia Amaglobeli, has been brought to the Kutaisi Court of Appeals on the 311th day of her unlawful imprisonment. 🟥 On 18 November, the Kutaisi Court of Appeals is expected to deliver its verdict in Mzia Amaglobeli’s case. #FreeMzia
- 🟥Zaza Shatirishvili, a speaker affiliated with Bidzina Ivanishvili - a Russia-enriched oligarch and Georgia’s strongman - is calling U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance a representative of the “deep state.” #Georgia batumelebi.netgazeti.ge/articles-in-...
- 🟥Georgian Dream announces major government shake-up: Anti-Corruption Bureau and Personal Data Protection Service will be abolished and merged into the State Audit Office from 2 March 2026. Business Ombudsman moves under the Ministry of Economy from 1 January 2026. #Georgia
- 🟥 Georgian citizens will no longer be able to vote from abroad in parliamentary elections - Georgian Dream plans to introduce corresponding amendments to the Election Code. #RepressionInGeorgia #Georgia #GeorgiaProtests ➡️ batumelebi.netgazeti.ge/articles-in-...
- 🟥 A day before the final appellate hearing of imprisoned journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, GYLA announces about filing a new application with @echr.coe.int on her behalf. 🟥 The case concerns her unlawful administrative arrest and violations committed during the proceedings. #FreeMzia #RepressionInGeorgia
- 🔴 On Nov.18, the 2nd appellate hearing concluded in the case of Georgia’s imprisoned journalist Mzia Amaglobeli. 💢 The prosecutor presented a forensic report on Amaglobeli’s phone - after 9 months - which found no evidence of a “pre-planned attack". #FreeMzia 📰 batumelebi.ge/articles-in-...
- 🗣️ Judge Koba Chagunava has sentenced Soviet history researcher, educator, and historian Rusiko Kobakhidze to three days in administrative detention for the second time, again on the grounds of “blocking the road.” #GeorgiaProtests ▶️ batumelebi.netgazeti.ge/articles-in-...
- 🟥 “The bodies of all twenty crew members have been found. Forensic experts and the investigative team remain at the site,” the MIA of #Georgia reports. 🟥 The Turkish military aircraft crashed on November 11, about five kilometers from Georgia’s state border. #Turkey ▶️ batumelebi.ge/articles-in-...
- 📌Criminal prosecution has been initiated against former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia in connection with the 2019, June 20/Gavrilov’s Night events and the Chorchana checkpoint case. 🟥The announcement was made today, November 12, by the Prosecutor General, Giorgi Gvaramidze, during a press briefing
