Georgien

A group of non-profit groups in Georgia has condemned a series of amendments proposed by the government that would strengthen punishment for protesters and effectively ban some opposition figures from running for political office.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze threatened anti-government activists with further arrests as tensions remained high in the Caucasus nation following a weekend of mass protests in the capital, Tbilisi.

Protesters gathered on September 9 in the Georgian capital a day after supporters of the ruling Georgian Dream party attacked protesters participating in ongoing demonstrations over a government decision to halt European Union membership talks. 

The European Union is threatening Georgia, a candidate country for membership, with sanctions over violations of core European values. Georgia’s democratic backsliding will not go without consequences, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said following a meeting of bloc foreign ministers in Brussels.

A court in Georgia has sentenced prominent opposition figure Nika Gvaramia to eight months in prison, amid a deepening crackdown on critics of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Authorities in Georgia are tightening the screws on dissent, manipulating legal and law enforcement frameworks to jail or financially punish critics, increase surveillance, bankrupt watchdog entities and impose restrictions designed to cut off funding channels for democracy activism.

Bidzina Ivanishvili, the Russia-friendly billionaire considered Georgia's most powerful political figure, has refused a meeting with the US ambassador in Tbilisi, which the embassy said was requested to deliver a message from the Trump administration.

Georgia has fired around 700 civil servants for supporting pro-European Union protests in the South Caucasus country since December, according to the local chapter of anti-corruption organisation Transparency International.

Chaos erupted in the Georgian courtroom as the verdict was announced, with Mikheil Saakashvili’s supporters calling the judge a ''slave'' of the current government. Saakashvili was found guilty of embezzlement. 

The European Press Freedom Report for 2024 found that Georgia witnessed a sharp deterioration in press freedoms and one of steepest declines in journalists’ safety in Europe, over the course of last year.