Georgia Crisis Watch

Georgia Crisis Watch

2/14/2025, 3:12:21 AM

📸 Protest banner flying at the moment on the facade of Ilia State University where the local student movement is protesting the installation of the new surveillance apparatus on Rustaveli Avenue. The banner reads, “Big Brother, we’re watching You!”

Georgia Crisis Watch

2/14/2025, 3:10:35 AM

📸 New surveillance apparatus near the Tbilisi Opera House on Rustaveli Avenue. In December, the Chinese Communist Party provided the Ivanishvili regime with Dahua-manufactured surveillance cameras equipped with _facial and emotional recognition_ technology.

Georgia Crisis Watch

2/14/2025, 3:39:54 AM

*UNM Leader Alleges Drug Use by Special Forces* Levan Khabeishvili, chairman of the Political Council of the United National Movement - one of the four major parties in the Georgian Democratic Political Forces - alleged earlier today that the Georgian Special Forces, under the command of sanctioned Zviad Kharazishvili, had been operating under the influence of the captagon drug. Captagon is a deadly narcotic mostly widespread in the Arabic world. It is believed Assad’s forces in Syria were using captagon while committing human rights violations during the Syrian Civil War. Some also believe it is the drug of choice of Russian special forces. Mr. Khabeishvili is one of Kharazishvili’s most prominent victims, turning up violently beaten up under his orders during a 2024 protest.

Georgia Crisis Watch

2/14/2025, 3:17:29 AM

*🇺🇸 🇭🇷 Congressman Wilson Talks Georgia with Croatian Ambassador* Congressman Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina), the House Republican Majority’s pointman on Georgia, spoke about the Georgian national crisis today during a meeting with Croatia’s Ambassador to the United States Pjer Šimunović. According to a statement published by the Congressman, the two spoke about how they can “support the freedom of the Georgian people against the tyrannical Ivanishvili regime!” Croatia, as an EU member state, has supported EU-wide sanctions against the Ivanishvili regime but has stopped short from imposing national sanctions.

Georgia Crisis Watch

2/12/2025, 3:32:16 AM

*Another Activist Slapped with Fine* Nika Narsia, a prominent activist, has been fined 5,000 lari for taking part in a public protest in the latest punitive fine imposed by the regime to scare protesters. The fine amounts to almost four times the average salary in Tbilisi. Police gave the fine to Narsia’s wife, who was home alone with their 8-month-old baby. This is in par with the latest psychological pressure used by the regime against activists.

Georgia Crisis Watch

2/14/2025, 3:31:04 AM

*German-British Academic Targeted* Hans Gutbord, a well-known academician and researcher active in Georgian conflict research since the 1990s and a professor at Ilia State University, has become the latest target of the regime’s pressure campaign. In a video published on his X account, three police officers deliver a 5,000-lari fine for allegedly blocking a road.

Georgia Crisis Watch

2/12/2025, 3:34:58 AM

🎥 Speech by Congressman Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina), Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, on the House floor: “We must support the Georgian people who are in their 76th consecutive day of protests. Georgia needs free and fair elections!”

Georgia Crisis Watch

2/12/2025, 3:23:32 AM

*Public TV Broadcaster Points at Regime Takeover* Vasil Ivanov-Chikovani, a famous news host on Georgia’s Public Broadcaster fired last week after expressing his solidarity with hunger striking Mzia Amaghlobeli, spoke last night to media to discuss the ongoing developments in the public channel. According to him, the editorial policy at the broadcaster is under the control of Vasil Maghlaperidze, a former Vice-Chairman of Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream party and the current chairman of the Board of Trustees of the network (which legally has no influence over the editorial policy). Thousands of protesters have been picketing the network’s HQ for months, calling for Maghlaperidze’s resignation.

Georgia Crisis Watch

2/5/2025, 9:31:37 PM

*Municipal Staff Pours Water on Protester* In the eastern Municipality of Gurjaani (Kakheti), staff from the Municipal Mayor’s Office threw a cold water bucket on Tornike Tevzadze, an activist who had been leading a one-man protest in the village with a sign saying “I am Gurjaanian, therefore I am European.”

Georgia Crisis Watch

2/5/2025, 9:43:39 PM

*Regimes Drafts Authoritarian Laws* The Ivanishvili regime is moving fast to take down the last remnants of civil society in Georgia through new totalitarian legislature announced today by the regime’s legislative spokesperson Mamuka Mdinaradze. Among those “reforms” * Total ban on foreign grants for news agencies; * Development of a “media standard” to regulate the content of the press; * Strengthening of the Foreign Agents Act to allow for the imprisonment of those that do not register as foreign agents; * Ban on public workers taking part in foreign-funded trainings; * Stronger penalties for drug-related crimes.