Last call to save Georgia’s democracy

by Salome Khvedelidze

• 3 min read

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OC Insider

Georgian Dream’s ‘alternative facts’ machine

Nate Ostiller

••3 min read

As public backlash — and condemnation from Georgia’s traditional allies — over the government’s EU U-turn continues, the Georgian Dream government and its media affiliates have increasingly tried to bend reality to suit their purposes. This is not a new tactic for the government and its media supporters like TV Imedi and PosTV, but it has reached jarring levels of cognitive dissonance amid the ongoing protest movement. From my perspective as a journalist, whose primary goal is to cover, as bes

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Nine years of pressure

Aytan Farhadova

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‘Shirin and the girls were detained’ was a phrase first whispered in 2015 while Meydan TV staff were being trained in Ukraine. I was working with them at the time. The news shocked everyone, and as I remember one of my colleagues arguing with everyone after hearing this news while we were in the office of the Ukraine media outlet Nashi Qroshi. This month, a similar refrain was uttered when Meydan TV journalist Aysel Umudova sent a voice message on Telegram saying ‘Aytaj, Khayala, Aynur, Natig

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Cutting the aid of those in need

Arshaluys Barseghyan

••2 min read

Last week brought bad news for Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians. For a little over a year, the 100,000 refugees who lost their homes have been relying on government aid to cover rent and utilities in Armenia. Rental prices, which skyrocketed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have left Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians with little choice but to pay increased rents, especially in and around Yerevan, where they prefer to stay for work, education, and other opportunities. The aid is modest — just ֏50,00

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How police violated my rights as a journalist

Mariam Nikuradze

••2 min read

On Tuesday, police dispersed an opposition-organised protest outside Tbilisi State University. It was the second night protesters were blocking Ilia Chavchavadze, Melikishvili, and Varaziskhevi streets, a major crossroads. Police didn’t issue a warning about the dispersal in advance; they only gave a verbal warning to protest organisers on the site 15 minutes in advance. The dispersal started at around 7:00 in the morning. Thousands of police officers started moving to clear the intersection