Bust of Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi. (on.ge)
Georgian drug policy reform advocates have marked the anniversary of police raids on night clubs Bassiani and Café Gallery in the capital Tbilisi. [Read more…]
(on.ge)
Georgia’s national wrestling team made headlines on Friday after a photo was published online of the team wearing T-shirts of a North Ossetian MP to the background of the Russian flag. The backlash follows a series of controversies around the 10th anniversary of the August War, including in restaurant chain Machakhela, nightclub Bassiani, and with Radio Free Europe’s Georgian service. [Read more…]
Police facing off with far-right counter-rally (Dato Parulava /OC Media)
Georgia’s Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia has apologised over police raids on two popular nightclubs in Tbilisi. Gakharia met with protest leaders during a rally in front of Tbilisi’s parliament building on Sunday evening. Far-right groups, who have been holding counter-demonstrations against ‘drug dealers and LGBT propagandists’ vowed to continue to protest.
Protest on 12 May (Dato Parulava /OC Media)
Thousands of people rallied on 12 May against the nightclub raids and police violence, demanding the PM and Interior Minister’s resignations. [Read more…]
Police detaining people during clashes in front of Bassiani club (Mari Nikuradze /OC Media)
Masked police raided two popular Tbilisi nightclubs, Bassiani and Café Gallery under the pretence of detaining drug traffickers on the night of 11 May. Police forcibly removed club-goers from the venues and clashes ensued. [Read more…]
(Bassiani)
Georgia’s judiciary has come under fire from NGOs and officials after a 27-year-old man charged with stabbing three people, including a police officer, was released on bail. The incident happened on 13 January in Tbilisi outside the Bassiani nightclub. [Read more…]
