Dear readers,

August was a big month, as expected, with continued pressure on the media and activists. A lot of trials of protesters concluded in August and early September, with more to come. As we get closer to October’s local elections, I expect the situation to get more tense still, including in the street. Just two days ago 23 people were detained during one protest, some of whom reported mistreatment from the police, including violence, insults, or being forcefully stripped naked.

Even though, most opposition parties are boycotting the election and there is an expectation that turnout will be low, there are still some expectations for 4 October, with street protests already being scheduled in parallel with the vote (Levan Khabeishvili from the United National Movement even labeled it as the day for a ‘revolution’). Before that another larger protest is planned for 13 September. Georgian Dream is not losing time either, including getting ready for possible tensions, as the recent footage of riot police training in Zugdidi shows.

Your continued interest and the increasing number of subscribers to this newsletter is a sign that we do important work that goes beyond our geographic borders. Whether it’s through social media interactions or kind replies to this newsletter, we feel you’re there for us. Just in case you decide to take a step further, we’d be extremely happy to welcome you to the OC Media membership community. Meanwhile we’ll do our best to keep you on top of everything — I predict September’s issue will be extensive.

Until then,
Mariam Nikuradze

6 August: Netgazeti and Batumelebi founder Mzia Amaghlobeli was sentenced to two years in prison for slapping Batumi police chief Irakli Dgebuadze. The charges against her were unexpectedly downgraded at the last minute.

8 August: Two protesters were sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for allegedly possessing Molotov cocktails. Both denied the charges and said evidence was planted on them.

11 August: The Anti-Corruption Bureau launched inspections against six civil society groups under FARA, the first time the law has been used. Those targeted were the Civil Society Foundation, Sapari, Transparency International Georgia, the Social Justice Centre, the Media Development Foundation, and ISFED.

12 August: The court of appeals upheld an 11-year prison sentence for Businessperson Giorgi Bachiashvili for fraud. A former confidante of Bidzina Ivanishvili, Bachiashvili says he was forcibly returned from the UAE after turning against him.

12 August: Protester Anatoli Gigauri was sentenced to two years in prison for allegedly slapping a police officer, after charges against him were downgraded. He has alleged that police severely beat him in custody.

15 August: Protester Tedo Abramov was acquitted of drug charges. He was arrested on his way to protest, and said police planted drugs on him.

15 August: Protester Davit Khomeriki was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for allegedly carrying a Molotov cocktail. He said police planted the evidence on him.

20 August: The Anti-Corruption Bureau launched a FARA inspection against the Economic Policy Research Centre, a think tank.

22 August: Protester Archil Museliantsi was sentenced to four years in prison for allegedly setting fire to CCTV cables during anti-government protests.

16 August: Two protesters were arrested on charges of group violence. They face up to two years in prison if convicted.

19 August: Tbilisi City Court fined and stripped the driving licence of Oto Parulava, the Deputy Secretary of opposition coalition Lelo — Strong Georgia, for refusing to take a drug test.

27 August: Tbilisi City Court froze the bank accounts of seven leading civil society groups for ‘facilitating violence’ during protests. Those targeted were ISFED, the Civil Society Foundation, IDFI, the Social Justice Centre, Sapari, the Georgian Democratic Initiative, and Democracy Defenders.

2 August: French photojournalist Hicham El Bouhmidi was denied entry at the Sadakhlo border crossing and told to pay a ₾5,000 fine for an alleged March protest offence.

4 August: Activist Nino Datashvili was ordered to undergo 20 days of involuntary psychiatric evaluation, which her lawyers condemned as punitive.

5 August: The opposition UNM party said the security services attempted to blackmail one of their members into spying on Levan Khabeishvili, a leading member of the party.

6 August: Police raided the home of protester Giorgi Klondashvili, reopening embezzlement charges from 2021. He denied wrongdoing and called the case politically motivated.

6 August: The Tbilisi Court of Appeals overturned a fine against RFE/RL journalist Nino Tarkhnishvili for contempt of court. A judge had accused her of sitting ‘too early’ during a trial.

6 August: Doctor and protester Giorgi Akhobadze was acquitted of drug charges. He claimed police fabricated the case after detaining him at a protest.

29 August: Georgian Dream MP Tea Tsulukiani has threatened to sue people for spreading rumours that she has divorced her husband and remarried.

31 July: Georgian Dream’s Kakha Kaladze announced he would run for a third term as mayor of Tbilisi.

8 August: Georgian Dream presented an all-male list of candidates for Tbilisi’s municipal election.

10 August: Far-right leader Zurab Makharadze announced he would run for mayor of Tbilisi. He is sanctioned by the US and heads the extremist group Alt-Info.

13 August: Georgian Dream again used images of war-torn Ukraine in campaign ads.

18 August: Opposition parties Lelo and For Georgia named Irakli Kupradze as their joint candidate for Tbilisi mayor.

21 August: Georgian election watchdog ISFED said they would not observe the elections, citing concerns over democratic backsliding and the fairness of the electoral process.

26 August: The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics said it would not carry out monitoring of election coverage ahead of the election.

4 August: Georgian authorities accused German Ambassador Peter Fischer of involvement in a corruption probe linked to opposition leader Mamuka Khazaradze.

4 August: The parliamentary commission into alleged opposition misconduct concluded its work. Eight opposition figures were jailed for refusing to participate in its sessions.

4 August: Poland announced it was ending a simplified work visa scheme for Georgians. The programme will remain for Armenians, Belarusians, Moldovans, and Ukrainians.

6 August: The EU decided not to invite Georgia to a September foreign ministers’ meeting.

8 August: Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused former president Mikheil Saakashvili of provoking the 2008 August War on orders from the ‘deep state’.

13 August: Twenty-one independent media outlets staged a multi-hour blackout, warning that press freedom in Georgia was under unprecedented attack.

18 August: Dutch authorities barred Georgian officials from a long-running rule of law training.

20 August: Over 50 MPs signed a PACE declaration calling for Georgia to be expelled if it did not reverse its democratic backsliding.

20 August: The chair of the Gori municipal council reportedly ‘thanked God’ for Russian troops during the 2008 August War, in an interview with the New York Times.

25 August: Georgian Dream parliamentary leader Mamuka Mdinaradze was appointed head of the State Security Service. His predecessor moved to an advisory role to the Prime Minister.

25 August: Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze said Georgia should not compromise its national interests for visa free access to the EU.

26 August: Sanctioned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited Tbilisi and met with senior Georgian officials.