The Ministers Committee of the Council of Europe called on Georgian authorities to “revise” legislation related to freedom of assembly and ensure a “fully enabling environment” for NGOs monitoring and assisting respective cases, in a decision following a meeting on supervision of the execution of the European Court of Human Rights judgments. In the decision …

Below is the weekly digest of key developments and discourses in and around the occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia, as well as those concerning Tbilisi–Moscow relations. Sokhumi Kan Kvarchia Criticises Russia and Calls for Dialogue with Tbilisi Abkhaz “opposition” leader Kan Kvarchia, recently sentenced by a Sochi court to 10.5 years in prison, has sharply criticised the ruling, …

Georgia’s Interior Ministry said 17 people remain stranded in the Russia-Georgia border zone, a day after reports raised alarm that Ukrainians stuck there allegedly facing dire conditions. According to the ministry’s June 11 statement, the 17 individuals stranded in the Dariali so-called “neutral zone” on the Russia-Georgia border – “none of whom are women or …

Backlash followed a video showing 10-year-old girl in a children’s chorus suddenly falling during a live performance on Georgia’s Public Broadcaster, with critics accusing adults and TV staff of negligence as it appeared the girl remained on the floor without attention until the performance ended about two minutes later. The TV station and chorus later …

Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze praised Georgia’s strategic partnership with China as “exemplary” while discussing ties between the two countries a day after Tbilisi and Beijing elevated relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership.” In a June 10 briefing, Kobakhidze said relations between China and Georgia have developed “very dynamically” over the past years since …

Mamuka Artmeladze, a 43-year-old Georgian national, died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in Louisiana on June 4, the agency announced on June 7. According to ABC News, he is the 50th person to die in ICE detention during the second Trump administration. ICE said Artmeladze, an “illegal alien from the country of …

Georgian Dream Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, and Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met in Istanbul on June 8 for the tenth trilateral meeting of the three countries’ foreign ministers. They signed a joint statement, the Istanbul Declaration, and held a press conference after the event. Maka Botchorishvili also held bilateral …

Tbilisi and Beijing have elevated their bilateral relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” the Embassy of China in Georgia said on June 9, publishing letters exchanged between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Georgian Dream-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili on the occasion of the 34th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The comprehensive strategic partnership …

The U.S. House of Representatives passed on June 8 a bill requiring a report on Russian and Chinese intelligence assets in Georgia. The bill, H.R. 7668, titled “Countering China’s Control of the Caucasus Act,” was introduced on February 24 by Republican Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina, a vocal critic of Georgian Dream, and co-sponsored …

Georgia’s Interior Ministry announced on June 8 new legislative amendments tightening migration rules for foreign students and local educational institutions and criminalizing fictitious marriages between Georgian and foreign citizens, among other measures. The initiative follows the Georgian Dream government’s crackdown on illegal migration, including pledges to “free” the country of illegal migrants amid continued reports …

Georgian and European Union officials are scheduled to meet for a dialogue related to the suspension of the visa-free regime on June 11 amid continued warnings from Brussels that the measure currently targeting officials may extend to the entire country. Rikard Jozwiak, Europe Editor of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), first reported about the planned …

Below is the weekly digest of key developments and discourses in and around the occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia, as well as those concerning Tbilisi–Moscow relations. Sokhumi Abkhaz ‘Opposition’ Leader Sentenced in Russia Kan Kvarchia, an Abkhaz opposition leader and the main defendant in the so-called “political technologists case,” has been sentenced in absentia by a Russian court to 10 years …

Georgia will not participate in the first expert meeting of the 3+3 Regional Cooperation Platform scheduled for June 5 on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), the Georgian Foreign Ministry said, reiterating Tbilisi’s longstanding position on the initiative. “Georgia’s position is well known and has been repeatedly stressed by the Georgian …

French intelligence service DGSE (Directorate-General for External Security) was forced to recall two intelligence officers stationed in Tbilisi in May after Georgian authorities uncovered the agency’s recruitment of a former associate of Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, according to a report published by French outlet Intelligence Online on June 3. The report concerns Giorgi Udzilauri, …

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope to “perhaps change the trajectory not just of [U.S.] relationship with Georgia, but of their behavior” as he responded to the question of Rep. Joe Wilson during a hearing at the House Foreign Affairs Committee on June 3. Rep. Wilson, a fierce critic of Georgian Dream …

Georgia’s annual inflation rate stood at 5.7% in May, while consumer prices increased by 0.3% month-on-month, according to data released by the National Statistics Office (Geostat) on June 3. Prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages declined by 0.6% compared to April. The main contributors to annual inflation were transport (15.1%), restaurants and hotels (7.6%), alcoholic beverages and …

The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia announced arresting three people and launching criminal prosecution against six more after uncovering fraudulent visa and asylum schemes in joint efforts with the U.S. Embassy’s Regional Security Office (RSO). According to prosecutor Giorgi Mikaia’s June 2 press briefing, the joint efforts led to the identification of two organized criminal groups, …

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said that it has detained smugglers who, acting on instructions from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), attempted to deliver an explosive-laden drone to the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, noting that the weapons had been transported across the Black Sea from occupied Abkhazia for the terrorist attacks. According to …

The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) announced on May 30 the arrest of another Georgian citizen, later identified as Irakli Chikhladze, on allegations of spying for a foreign country’s intelligence service, marking the second such arrest in a single day. While the agency had not immediately disclosed the individual’s identity, pro-government Rustavi 2 said …

Zurab Menteshashvili, 61, has been sentenced to nine months in prison after being found guilty of “repeated road blockage,” marking the first known conviction under the charge introduced as part of controversial amendments adopted in October 2025, when repeating certein protest-related offenses were criminalized. Tbilisi City Court Judge Nino Galustashvili, who had previously handed down …

The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) said the perpetrators had already been arrested in February after the opposition-leaning TV Pirveli channel aired a teaser featuring scenes of violence apparently involving police officers. On June 12, TV Pirveli released a teaser for Meladze’s Saturday (Meladzes Shabati), the channel’s weekend investigative program hosted by journalist Nodar …

Ambassadors of Israel, the United Kingdom, Italy, Armenia, and Turkey met with Georgian Patriarch Shio III on June 11 in what the Patriarchate said were separate “introductory meetings” with the newly enthroned leader of the Georgian Orthodox Church. The diplomats received by Shio III at the Patriarchate in Tbilisi included Israel’s Walid Abu Haya, the …

Maia Darsmelidze, a musician critical of the ruling Georgian Dream government, said on June 11 she has been notified by Interior Ministry’s newly established unit tasked with monitoring “hate speech” of administrative proceedings against her, marking the first reported case involving the unit established on June 1. According to Darsmelidze, who said she is scheduled …

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Georgia announced on June 11, at a briefing attended by U.S., Polish and local officials, the arrest of two foreign nationals it said were members of an organized criminal group involved in cryptocurrency laundering, which allegedly laundered cryptocurrency worth “several hundred million US dollars” over three years. According to Beka …

The so-called “supreme court” of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian region of Donetsk has sentenced Georgian fighter Nuri Mitagvaria in absentia to 14 years in a “maximum-security penal colony” for fighting on Ukraine’s side “as a mercenary.” He has also been placed on an international wanted list. In a June 9 statement, the Donetsk de facto prosecutor’s …

Eight defendants charged in connection with the October 4, 2025, local election day unrest reached plea agreements, with seven of them walking free from Tbilisi City Court, which approved the deals, on June 9, while the eighth, Eva Shashiashvili, had already been released on bail seven months earlier due to health-related concerns. The seven defendants include …

Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze held a briefing on June 9 dedicated to billionaire founder and honorary chairman of the ruling party, former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, extensively praising him and his personal role in the country’s politics. During a nearly eight-minute speech, Kobakhidze described Ivanishvili as a “political grandmaster” who, he said, is …

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Georgia totaled USD 271.2 million in the first quarter of 2026, marking a 47.7% increase compared to the same period in 2025, according to preliminary data released by the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) on June 9. Geostat said the growth was primarily driven by equity and debt instruments. …

Journalist Afgan Sadigov, who was deported by Georgia to Azerbaijan in April, was “forcibly” taken away by “4–5 masked individuals in plain clothes” to an unclear direction, the journalist’s wife, Sevinc Sadigova, wrote on Facebook on June 8. “Just now, 4–5 masked individuals in plain clothes stormed the place where Afqan was and forcibly took him away. …

Simon Rovensky, a 22-year-old Canadian student diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), has been detained in Georgia after entering the country with Adderall, a medication used to treat the condition that is banned under Georgian law, without carrying the prescription, according to his family. He faces charges of large-scale drug smuggling and the illegal …

Hungary is stopping issuing worker visas to citizens of Georgia, Armenia, and the Philippines as part of efforts to regulate “inflow of guest workers,” Hungarian government spokeswoman Vanda Szondi announced, according to Reuters June 5 report. The measure was set to take effect on Friday, June 5. Citing Szondi, Reuters reports that the new government …

Over a dozen defendants charged in connection with the October 4, 2025, election-day unrest are expected to be released from custody with suspended sentences after reaching plea agreements in two separate proceedings, with deals yet to be approved by courts. Fourteen out of fifteen defendants who have agreed to a deal have been in pretrial …

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a recurring resolution on June 4, reiterating the right of return of all displaced persons and refugees in Georgia’s Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia. According to the Georgian Foreign Ministry, the resolution received 107 votes in favor, as last year, while the number of countries voting “against” fell to …

Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze rejected allegations that Georgia’s government is “pro-Iranian” and disputed remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggesting that Georgian officials had asked Washington what would be required to improve bilateral relations. The remarks came a day after a U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing in which Rep. Joe …

The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has relocated to the former Presidential Palace in Tbilisi’s Avlabari district and has been operating from the building since March, the government administration’s press office confirmed to several local outlets, including Netgazeti and BM.ge, on June 2. The Ministry’s departments have operated from two buildings in central Tbilisi: an …

Fourteen employees, including journalists, have been dismissed from Adjara public broadcaster as part of the reorganization process launched earlier in the spring, in what the dismissed workers describe as a move to silence critical voices. “On June 2, 14 employees of Adjara Public Broadcaster were notified by management via email that their employment contracts had …

Three more prison sentences were handed down in separate June 1 and June 2 rulings against minors in connection with the murder of 28-year-old teacher Giga Avaliani, bringing the total number of convictions in the high-profile case to five. The jail terms of all convicts in the case were reduced automatically by one-fourth under the …

Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said on June 1 that a newly established Division for Combating Hate Speech tasked with monitoring and detecting alleged hate-speech offenses has begun operating with an initial staff of ten people within the ministry’s Human Rights Protection Department. According to the ministry, “the main function and duties of the division …

The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) said it arrested a Georgian citizen, whom it identified as the “founder and head of one of the non-governmental organizations,” on allegations of spying for the intelligence services of two foreign countries. The agency did not disclose the individual’s identity or the countries it alleges were involved. In …

Georgia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 6.2% year-on-year in April 2026, according to rapid estimates released by the National Statistics Office (Geostat) on May 29. Average real GDP growth for January-April stood at 8.3%. According to Geostat, the increase was primarily driven by growth in the manufacturing, information and communication, transportation and storage, wholesale and …

Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, together with a delegation of several GD ministers, visited Kyrgyzstan on June 11-12 in what he said was the first “top-level” visit between the two states. The delegation included GD Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili, Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili, Agriculture Minister Levan Songulashvili, and Government Administration Head Levan Zhorzholiani. Among …

Georgian and European Union officials met in Brussels on June 11 for an “enhanced dialogue” following the suspension of the visa-free regime for Georgian holders of diplomatic, service, and official passports, with the Georgian side expressing a “positive” outlook after the meeting, while an EU official described the talks as “rather unfruitful.” The meeting, which …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board described Georgia’s economy as “resilient” despite elevated “global uncertainty,” including the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, expecting economic growth to remain “strong, though moderating,” at 6.5% in 2026, while projecting inflation to stay above the National Bank of Georgia’s (NBG) target until mid-2027. In a June 10 …

Another 14 defendants charged in connection with the October 4, 2025, tensions were released on June 10 after the Tbilisi City Court approved their plea agreements with prosecutors, bringing the number of those who entered similar deals in election-day unrest trials to 22. Twenty-one of them walked free from courtrooms after months in pre-trial custody, …

Georgia’s Interior Ministry said on June 10 that it had arrested 119 individuals on drug-related charges, including 49 suspected drug dealers, during a nationwide operation conducted over the previous 48 hours. The detainees include both Georgian and foreign nationals and face up to 20 years in prison or life imprisonment. Announcing the operation, Tbilisi Police …

The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) said on June 9 that a Georgian citizen illegally detained by Russian occupation forces in the vicinity of the Sachkhere municipality has been released and is now in Tbilisi-controlled territory. While the SSSG did not disclose the individual’s identity, in line with its recent practice, the RES news …

Georgia’s disputed Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili signed amendments on June 8, tightening parliamentary accreditation rules for journalists and media outlets, with the Georgian Dream-dominated legislature saying the changes were developed “based on the example of rules established for media representatives in the European Parliament.” The new rules introduce the possibility of early revocation of accreditation …

Journalist Afgan Sadigov, who was deported by Georgia to Azerbaijan in April, has been arrested, his lawyer Tamta Mikeladze confirmed on social media on June 9, noting that he was arrested “in connection with the same case under which Azerbaijan had sought his extradition,” after Baku “resumed” the investigation and prosecution. The confirmation of Sadigov’s …

Dzambolat Tadtayev, the de facto prime minister of Georgia’s occupied Tskhinvali/South Ossetia region, resigned on June 8, as Alan Gagloev, the region’s de facto president, has nominated Marat Kambolov, a former Russia official, to lead a new cabinet. While Kambolov’s Russian citizenship is not confirmed, he has reported extensive work experience in Russia’s federal government …

Georgian politicians from both the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the victory of his party, Civil Contract, in the June 7 parliamentary elections. Extending her “warmest congratulations,” Salome Zourabichvili, Georgia’s fifth president, wrote on X, “Today, Armenia firmly chose a free, independent, and European future. This …

The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services approved two Georgia-related amendments for inclusion in the draft U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual “must-pass” bill, that would require reports on individuals described as “political prisoners” in Georgia, as well as on Russian and Chinese intelligence activities in the country. The amendments to NDAA, a …

Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) announced on June 5 that it has detained a person on an international wanted list for serious crimes, in coordination with the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). According to the ministry, the operation was carried out by the Central Criminal Police Department and the General Prosecutor’s Office, …

Parents of children diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) are marking “victory” and announcing the end of rallies after reaching an agreement with officials to form a working group on ensuring access to “specific medications,” following months of protests and campaigns demanding modern treatments for a rare genetic disorder. Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze …

The Interior Ministry said police have seized 148 cryptocurrency mining devices in Mestia municipality in Georgia’s mountainous Svaneti region, as part of an investigation into violations of electricity usage regulations, shortly after authorities announced a broader crackdown on illegal crypto mining in the region amid longstanding electricity shortage concerns. The measures come amid a years-long …

The World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors approved a USD 372 million loan for Georgia for the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor project, as Georgian officials seek a total of USD 751million from international financial institutions for rail and road modernization to improve connectivity.The The Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor, also known as the Middle Corridor, is a …

Georgian, Azerbaijani, and Turkish officials inaugurated the “full launch” of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway on June 2, marking the completion of major rehabilitation and reconstruction works aimed at boosting trade and freight transport volumes across the region. The BTK railway, a key Middle Corridor transit link that initially opened in 2017 and, according to officials, …

The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has accused Berlin of delay in receiving credentials of Alexander Kartozia, who was appointed as Georgia’s ambassador to Germany last autumn. According to the MFA, Kartozia was appointed as an ambassador on October 1, 2025, on the basis of the agrément granted by Germany on September 10, 2025, …

Georgian footballer Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been named UEFA Champions League Player of the Season after winning Europe’s top club tournament for the second consecutive year with French club Paris Saint-Germain. The first such recognition for a Georgian athlete comes after the player emerged as a leader throughout the club’s successful season, culminating in the 2025/26 …

Dhvanit Rajdeep, a 23-year-old Indian student in Tbilisi who had been missing for more than two weeks, has been found dead in the Mtkvari River, police confirmed to Civil.ge. An investigation has been launched under Article 115, which covers “incitement to suicide” and is standard procedure in cases where a person is found dead under …

Below is the weekly digest of key developments and discourses in and around the occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali /South Ossetia. Sokhumi Abkhazia Proposes Stricter “Election” Rules and Ban on Foreign Involvement De facto MPs are considering sweeping “amendments” to the “constitutional law” governing so-called parliamentary elections. The proposed amendments were unanimously approved by …