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Breaking news & commentary from #Georgia

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A Thai travel YouTuber who had been reported missing by his family was found dead in a hotel room in Georgia around two weeks ago, the Georgian Interior Ministry said.

Authorities said an investigation has been launched under Article 115 of Georgia's Criminal Code, which covers incitement to suicide.

Earlier on Tuesday, Georgian media, citing Thai reports, said the family of Hlun Solo had appealed for help after losing contact with him. The YouTuber had traveled to Georgia alone to film content, and his family last spoke with him on 13 July.

The Interior Ministry later confirmed that he had been found dead in a hotel room approximately two weeks earlier. The investigation is ongoing.

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Former U.S. Ambassador Ian Kelly and former Assistant Secretary of State David Kramer are urging the United States and European Union to sharply increase pressure on Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party, warning that the country is moving toward a dictatorship.

In an analysis published by Just Security, a platform based at New York University School of Law, Kelly and Kramer call for targeted sanctions against Georgian Dream officials, judges and prosecutors involved in repression, and urge the EU to sanction party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili.

The authors argue that Georgian Dream is dismantling democratic institutions, civil society, independent media and the opposition, while pushing Georgia away from its Western path and closer to Russia, China and Iran.

They say the crackdown began with restrictions on NGOs, including a Russian-style “foreign agents” law, and has expanded to independent media through financial pressure, legal harassment and fines. They cite pressure on businesses not to advertise with critical TV channels, the suspension or downsizing of broadcasters, and the 14-day detention of journalist Vakho Sanaia.

The article also warns that opposition parties and their leaders have become the next target, pointing to criminal cases against opposition figures and threats to ban political parties. The authors compare Georgian Dream’s use of artificial opposition groups to Russia’s political model, where formal multiparty politics exists but real power remains concentrated in one center.

Kelly and Kramer urge Washington to warn Moscow against any military intervention in Georgia and to back pending U.S. legislation that would impose broad sanctions on officials undermining democracy. They argue that the U.S. and EU must stand with the Georgian people against a ruling party “seeking closer ties with America’s enemies.”

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Nauru, a tiny nation in the Pacific, has revoked diplomatic relations with occupied Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Georgia’s Foreign Ministry said.

According to the ministry, the decision was made by Nauru’s cabinet on July 21 and concerns the termination of diplomatic relations with the self-declared “Republic of Abkhazia” and “Republic of South Ossetia,” also referred to by Russia-backed authorities as the “State of Alania.”

Georgia welcomed the move, saying it reaffirmed that respect for international law is the foundation of healthy international relations.

Nauru recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in 2009, becoming one of the few states to recognize Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions as independent

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A Tbilisi court has sentenced several activists to administrative detention and fined others after police detained them near the Tbilisi City Council over banners insulting Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili.

The late-night hearings ended at around 2 a.m. on July 29. The detainees had been arrested on July 26 after activist Tornike Toshkhua stood outside the council building holding a banner reading: “Is Bidzina a d***? Yes – No.” Others later arrived in solidarity with similar banners and were also detained.

Judge Zviad Tsekvava fined Toshkhua 3,000 GEL and imposed fines of 5,000–6,000 GEL on several others. Nato Bolkvadze received five days in detention, while Shako Baghdoshvili and Lasha Dgebuadze were each sentenced to 10 days.

In a separate ruling, Judge Tornike Kapanadze fined Vaso Beridze 5,000 GEL and sentenced Ia Melitauri to five days in detention. Melitauri reportedly told the court she had been mistreated after her arrest and showed injuries she said were sustained during detention.

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Representatives of local authorities across Georgia have coordinated the sharing of a post praising Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, after an apparent voice message from the party’s regional secretary, Dito Samkharadze, was posted on Facebook.

The message was first shared by Davit Kirikashvili, deputy chair of the Kazbegi municipal council. In the recording, Samkharadze is heard saying: “There is no Georgia without Bidzina Ivanishvili and Georgian Dream. Everyone must understand this. This man gave everything, sacrificed everything. He put his family’s safety at stake.”

About four hours after Kirikashvili posted the audio, Samkharadze published the same words as text on his own Facebook page.

The post was then shared or copied by a number of local officials, including the mayors of Akhaltsikhe, Akhalkalaki, Marneuli and Kareli, as well as municipal council chairs and regional agency heads.

Critics of Georgian Dream suggested the coordinated spread of the message may have been ordered in a party chat, with Kirikashvili’s audio post accidentally revealing the instruction.

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The European Union has sanctioned Russian state-controlled energy company Inter RAO, which indirectly owns major energy assets in Georgia through subsidiaries.

Inter RAO was added to the EU sanctions list as part of the bloc’s 21st package of measures against Russia, adopted on July 23. The EU Council said the company is one of Russia’s largest energy firms and plays an important role in the Russian economy.

According to the EU’s justification, the Russian government receives revenue from Inter RAO through taxes paid by the company and dividends paid by its shareholders. The EU said the company therefore financially supports the Russian government, which is responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilization of Ukraine.

Through Dutch-registered subsidiaries, Inter RAO indirectly controls 75.108% of Telasi, 75.471% of Telmico, and 100% of the Khrami HPP I and Khrami HPP II hydropower plants in Georgia.

The sanctions could affect companies in Georgia controlled directly or indirectly by Inter RAO.

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Georgian Dream-linked MMA fighter Giorgi Kartvelishvili has announced the creation of a new movement to defend “Georgian values, traditions and identity,” in what critics describe as a Chechen-style informal morality police initiative.
The comparison refers to the practice associated with Ramzan Kadyrov’s Chechnya, where loyalist strongmen and vigilante-style groups enforce official ideas of “tradition,” “morality” and loyalty through intimidation, public pressure and violence outside formal institutions.

Kartvelishvili said the group would fight “foreign-funded” actors, activists, politicians and media figures promoting what he called a “perverted ideology.” He also stressed the movement members would not hesitate to “go to prison” explicitly indicating intent to use violence the Georgian Dream regime opponents.

Read more ➡️ https://t.co/w4I62GF3nj

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Police high official is seen beating a student while Police arrests 10 activistsfor holding banners in solidarity with Tornike Toshkhua, arrested minutes earlier and holding similar banners “Is Bidzina a d*ck?” The banners did not specify whom they specifically meant

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Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has praised China as a “global, peaceful superpower” and said Beijing treats Georgia as an equal and respected partner.

Speaking at an event marking the end of Chinese Ambassador Zhou Qian’s diplomatic mission in Georgia, Kobakhidze said peace and stability were among the key principles uniting the two countries.

“In this respect, China is an exemplary country — a global, peaceful superpower committed to international cooperation and strengthening stability,” Kobakhidze said.

Kobakhidze also said Georgian Dream particularly values China’s approach to Georgia at a time when, in his words, international relations are often marked by double standards.

“We especially appreciate that China consistently treats Georgia as an equal and respected partner,” he said.

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The U.S. Embassy in Georgia says it is concerned about the Georgian government’s new unit for combating “hate speech,” warning that false or wrong views should be answered with more free speech, not enforced silence.

In a written response to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the embassy said the Trump administration has made clear that the United States considers freedom of speech a fundamental pillar of a functioning society.

“We strongly oppose censorship and restrictive laws used to silence people with undesirable views,” an embassy spokesperson said.

The embassy said political stability requires an opposition that can work with state institutions on behalf of the citizens who voted for it. Stability based on broad political representation, it added, is part of what makes Georgia a reliable partner for U.S. investment, security cooperation and a long-term strategic partnership.

“We are concerned about the Georgian government’s hate speech unit. The best response to lies and misguided views is more free speech, not silence imposed by coercion,” the embassy said.

RFE/RL had asked the embassy to comment on the detention of journalist Vakho Sanaia, the creation and work of the Interior Ministry’s hate speech unit, and the broader state of free speech, media freedom and treatment of government critics in Georgia.

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Police is seen arresting Tornike Toshkhua, an activist and former political prisoner who spent one year in jail for a one-man protest and holding a banner “Is Bidzina a d*ck? Yes - No”

📽️: Netgazeti

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The European Union has conditionally included Georgia’s Kulevi oil refinery in its 21st sanctions package against Russia, imposing a transaction ban that will take effect in six months unless the listing is reassessed.

The refinery, located on Georgia’s Black Sea coast and operated by Black Sea Petroleum, was listed because it trades and processes Russian oil. The European Commission said the six-month delay is intended to give the refinery time to diversify away from Russian crude, after which the Council will decide whether the ban remains necessary.

The move marks the first major inclusion of Georgian-linked entities in EU sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Kulevi refinery, opened in 2024 and promoted by Georgian officials as one of the country’s largest private investment projects, drew scrutiny after Russian oil company Russneft delivered its first cargo to the facility in 2025. Concerns have since grown that Russian oil products could be re-exported through Georgia under a Georgian designation.

The EU’s new package also extends transaction bans to 14 crypto-related service platforms based in Georgia, Panama, the UAE, the Marshall Islands, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus.

The UK previously sanctioned three Georgia-registered companies in May, describing them as Russia-focused crypto exchanges used to evade sanctions.

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Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has dismissed Georgia-related amendments to the U.S. defense bill, scolding senior Republican Congressman Joe Wilson and calling his initiatives “not interesting” and “not serious.”

The amendments, initiated by Wilson and included in the U.S. House-passed National Defense Authorization Act, would require the Pentagon to assess how the issue of political prisoners in Georgia affects military relations with Tbilisi. A separate provision calls for a report on Russian and Chinese intelligence activities in Georgia.

Kobakhidze mocked the amendments as “laughable,” saying they were the initiative of “one man” and did not reflect what he described as official Washington’s position.

“We are waiting for Washington’s official position on resetting relations with Georgia,” Kobakhidze said, adding that Georgian Dream wants to renew the strategic partnership “from a clean slate.”

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Georgian Dream MP Irakli Zarkua has appeared to justify the beating of civic activist and comedian Onise Okriashvili, who was attacked near his home after days of pro-government media attacks over a joke mentioning writer Nodar Dumbadze.

“Violence is not beautiful, it is serious and unacceptable,” Zarkua said, before adding that people should not insult figures who are a source of pride for Georgians, including writers, public figures and poets.

“When something like this happens afterwards, naturally, no one is insured against it,” Zarkua said. “Georgian society will not let anyone get away with this. I want everyone to know that well — him, his male friends, female friends and everyone else.”

Okriashvili was assaulted by several people near his home late at night. In video from the incident, the attackers can be heard referring to Nodar Dumbadze.

For several days before the attack, pro-government propaganda channels had targeted Okriashvili over a stand-up joke they portrayed as an insult to Dumbadze. Okriashvili denied insulting the writer, saying the joke had been taken out of context and manipulated.

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Georgian civic activist and comedian Onise Okriashvili says he was attacked near his home late last night by two or three people after a pro-government campaign targeting him over a joke about writer Nodar Dumbadze.

Speaking to TV Pirveli, Okriashvili said the controversy around his remarks had been “artificially created” and taken out of context to make violence against him appear acceptable.

He said the attackers ambushed him as he was returning home alone from a protest. According to Okriashvili, one of them asked whether he was the person who had made the comment about Dumbadze, while another said Dumbadze was “not for you to insult,” after which the physical assault began.

“I do not accept that these were outraged citizens,” Okriashvili said. “I am convinced they were either incited or hired by Georgian Dream.”

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Georgian stand-up comedian and anti-government protest participant Onise Okriashvili was assaulted near his home in Tbilisi after days of pro-government media attacks over a joke mentioning celebrated Soviet-era Georgian writer Nodar Dumbadze.

Okriashvili was attacked by three men late on July 22 in the capital’s Vake district outside his home and hospitalized. Video from the incident shows one attacker shouting, “How can you speak about Nodar Dumbadze like that?”

The backlash followed a July 12 stand-up routine that pro-government broadcasters and social media pages framed as an insult to Dumbadze. Okriashvili had denied insulting the writer, saying the joke was taken out of context and that Georgian Dream propaganda was encouraging people to act against him.

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Jailing people for social media posts has become a routine practice under Georgian Dream’s ongoing crackdown on freedom of speech in Georgia, spearheaded in part by a new Interior Ministry unit tasked with “monitoring offensive campaigns.” This trend has been reflected in Georgia’s free fall in international press freedom rankings, including those of Reporters Without Borders.

Sanaia’s detention also comes as Georgian Dream officials claim they are seeking to reset relations with the United States — even as repression against critical journalists, media outlets and government opponents escalates at home, and as Washington increasingly emphasizes freedom of speech as a core element of its foreign policy.

More at ➡️https://t.co/4OfCOk8lkd

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Prominent Georgian journalist and a Formula TV presenter Vakho Sanaia is handcuffed as he is jailed for a facebook post about Georgian Dream figures Shalva Papuashvili and Lado Bozhadze. Judge Zviad Tsekvava issued the ruling after Sanaia wrote that he would not voluntarily pay a 6,000 GEL fine imposed on him on July 10 over earlier posts mocking demands not to use an obscene insult against Papuashvili and Bozhadze.

The case comes as jailing and fining people over Facebook posts and other forms of expression has become increasingly routine in Georgia. Georgian Dream has also created a special unit within the Interior Ministry to “systematically monitor” public communication, including social media, for alleged hate speech and “offensive campaigns.”

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Traditional Saturday March takes place on day 598 of Georgia’s uninterrupted protest.

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