Mass Surveillance

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Surveillance cameras on the Georgian Parliament building. Photo: Shota Kincha/OC Media.

Datablog | Do Georgians feel like they are being spied on by the government?

•3 min read

Nearly half of the Georgian public think that they or their family members are under government surveillance at least some of the time. Georgia has consistently had controversies around surveillance over the past two political administrations, as both the United National Movement and Georgian Dream governments have had extensive access to communications. In September 2021, a massive cache of files allegedly belonging to the State Security Services (SSG) was leaked, causing a scandal in Georg

Georgia

Georgian Parliament overrides presidential veto on controversial surveillance law

by Shota Kincha

•4 min read

The Georgian Parliament has overruled President Salome Zurabishvili’s veto of a controversial surveillance bill. The changes will give Georgia’s investigative agencies broader powers and fewer constraints. This arrives against a backdrop of a number of uninvestigated wiretapping scandals and strong calls from the EU for better oversight of law enforcement bodies. On 6 September, the Georgian Parliament overruled President Salome Zurabishvili’s veto against a controversial surveillance amen

Bera Ivanishvili

Detained former security chief threatens to ‘expose’ Georgian Government

by Shota Kincha

•2 min read

The former deputy head of Georgia’s State Security Service (SSG), who was arrested on Friday, has threatened to expose government misdeeds. Tbilisi City Court remanded Soso Gogashvili into pre-trial custody on Monday, three days after a midnight raid by law enforcement agencies on his home on Friday night. The Prosecutor’s Office has charged him with exceeding official powers, obtaining, storing, and disseminating personal data by using his position, and illegally purchasing and possessing

Georgia

Georgian Dream pushes ahead with invasive new surveillance bill

by Shota Kincha

•2 min read

Members of Georgia’s ruling party have tabled proposals to expand the powers of law enforcement agencies and the security services to indefinitely surveil suspects in criminal cases. Georgian Dream MPs tabled a draft proposal amid outcry from watchdog groups, who say the amendments are unnecessary and invasive. On Thursday, 11 civil rights groups, including Transparency International Georgia, the Social Justice Centre, and the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, released a joint statement c

Patriarch Ilia II. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

Georgia

SSG Files: Georgian Patriarch Ilia II planned to resign in 2020

by Shota Kincha

•2 min read

The head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II, planned to step down in 2020 for unknown reasons, files allegedly leaked from the State Security Service of Georgia (SSG) show. This is the latest report from around 3,000 files allegedly leaked from the SSG on 12 September, many of which involve senior clergy from the Georgian Orthodox Church. [Read more on OC Media: Leaked ‘kompromat’ against the clergy rocks Georgia] According to the alleged surveillance files, Dimitri Shiolas

2021 Georgian Local Elections

Leaked ‘kompromat’ against the clergy rocks Georgia

by Shota Kincha

•4 min read

A former security officer in Georgia has allegedly leaked a massive cache of surveillance files, including details on clergy from the Georgian Orthodox Church. On 14 September, several major Georgian media outlets reported having received a link to a website a day earlier containing thousands of files of secret surveillance records. According to reports by TV channels Mtavari and Formula, RFE/RL‘s Georgian service Radio Tavisupleba, On.ge, Tabula and others, the dossiers produced since 2014