The International Carpet Festival is about to begin in Icherisheher, Azernews reports.
Month: May 2025
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The Daily Beat: 1 May
On the 155th day of protests, which coincided with International Labor Day, 10 independent trade unions and protesters gathered for a solidarity rally in Tbilisi, marching from Orbeliani Square to the government administration and later in the evening to Rustaveli Avenue near the parliament, once again blocking the avenue. “Workers build Georgia!” “Freedom, equality, solidarity!” the demonstrators chanted. For more updates on the Georgian resistance, follow our live blog.
Grigol Gegelia of the opposition coalition Strong Georgia claimed that the Foreign Ministry (MFA) plans to abolish the Directorate General for European Integration and dismiss around 250 employees under the guise of reorganization. According to Gegelia, the MFA employees targeted were those who signed a joint statement at the end of last year supporting Georgia’s European Union integration and criticized the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party’s decision to halt the EU accession process.
Civil.ge requested a comment from the Ministry regarding reports of a reorganization involving the abolition of the stand-alone Directorate General for European Integration and potential layoffs. In response, the Ministry stated, “The information circulating about the abolishment of the Directorate General for European Integration within the Ministry is not true.”
The Tbilisi City Court ordered Giorgi Bachiashvili, a former aide to billionaire and Georgian Dream party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, to pay him 9,000 bitcoins, valued at approximately USD 867 million at the current rate. Bachiashvili, who left Georgia on March 9 in violation of bail conditions, is now in exile and has seven days to pay before authorities start seizing his and his family’s property.
The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) has named Levan Natroshvili as its new executive director, following the end of Nino Dolidze’s term. ISFED, a prominent local watchdog, has played a key role in promoting electoral transparency in Georgia. In recent years, however, the organization has come under repeated criticism from the ruling Georgian Dream party.
The European People’s Party (EPP) adopted a resolution at its congress in Valencia, urging coordinated sanctions against the GD party founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, including cutting off Cartu Bank, of which he is the owner, from the SWIFT and Visa/MasterCard networks. It also called on international bodies not to recognize the legitimacy of Georgian Dream’s one-party parliament or its “appointed president,” further calling on the GD government to hold new parliamentary elections.
On May 1, Russia launched direct, regular flights to the occupied Abkhazia, drawing condemnation from Tbilisi for violating international norms and Georgian law. According to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, UVT Aero operated the first flight from Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport to Sokhumi, two days ahead of schedule, “due to high demand.” The flight, originally scheduled for May 3, marks the first official air service between Russia and the occupied Georgian region.
On April 30, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted its twelfth decision under the agenda item “The Council of Europe and the Conflict in Georgia,” reiterating its firm support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia and condemning the continued occupation of the regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia by the Russian Federation. The decision calls on Russia to fully and unconditionally withdraw its military forces from the Georgian territory and comply with its international obligations.
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, the resulting technological advancements are reshaping industries and occupations at an unprecedented rate. The ongoing revolution presents both exciting opportunities and profound challenges. We are entering an era marked by profound uncertainty, where society finds itself divided on the key question: Will AI serve as a force for good, or will it become a job-destroying disruptor?
Georgia’s press freedom ranking has dropped sharply – from 103rd to 114th – in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a Paris-based press freedom watchdog, on May 2. Speaking to Civil.ge, Jeanne Cavelier, head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, highlighted increasing violence against reporters and the imprisonment of journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli, who is “being treated more harshly due to her profession.” RSF also criticized the growing political control over the Georgian Public Broadcaster, which “has become a mouthpiece for the ruling party.”
In this year’s report the organization focused on the global challenges to the freedom of press stemming from the economic fragility and economic pressure as a major, more insidious problem, in addition to more visible, physical attacks against journalists.
In Georgia, the organization highlighted, the GD Parliament “continues to pass laws that restrict press freedom, including a recently revised version of the foreign influence law, which endangers media outlets funded by foreign donors.”
In the global environment already marked by the “the slow economic asphyxiation of the independent press” in the region, RSF noted that in Georgia, companies are discouraged from advertising with these outlets, and that the Georgian Public Broadcaster has increasingly acted as a ruling party mouthpiece, purging journalists who do not align with its editorial line.
The worsening ranking, according to which the country is now in “difficult” countries as far as press freedom is concerned, with the global score of 50.53, reflects the increasing physical violence against journalists in the country: “The persistent impunity enjoyed by those who commit crimes against journalists has recently been compounded by increased violence from law enforcement against reporters covering the protests shaking the country since the contested victory of the “Georgian Dream” party, led by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, in November,” said Jeanne Cavelier, to Civil.ge.
She added that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to work as a journalist in Georgia, citing more than 100 documented cases, “including beatings, arbitrary detentions, and the confiscation or destruction” of journalistic equipment.
The watchdog outlined the case of Mzia Amaghlobeli, the detained journalist and founder of Batumelebi/Netgazeti, as “emblematic of Georgia’s media crackdown.” Once seen as a beacon of democracy in the Caucasus, the country is now facing mounting repression, RSF warns. Amaghlobeli, charged with slapping Batumi police chief Irakli Dgebuadze, “is being treated more harshly due to her profession,” the watchdog argues.
RSF said the hostile environment toward critical media is further amplified by defamatory rhetoric from politicians, administrative bans, and a constant climate of fear. It also pointed to the cases in which two French journalists were denied entry to Georgia after covering the pro-EU demonstrations, calling it a sign of “authoritarian drift.”
The watchdog also flagged Georgia’s media advertising market as heavily influenced by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, limiting independent outlets’ ability to attract commercial support. The organization said the new “foreign influence” law [FARA] further restricts access to alternative funding amid ongoing anti-regime protests.
On top of everything, budget cuts under the Trump administration – including the suspension of funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the U.S. Agency for International Development – have “severely weakened an already vulnerable sector, especially in countries grappling with authoritarian regimes, corruption, and war,” the report warned.
The report comes amid the deteriorating media environment in the country. During the coverage of pro-EU rallies, many dozens of instances of violence against journalists by the police were recorded. According to the Europe Press Freedom Report, Georgia experienced the steepest surge in journalist safety alerts among Council of Europe (CoE) member states, and the press freedom in the country is under severe strain amid rising authoritarianism.
Also Read:
- 19/12/2024 – RSF: Shocking Impunity for Violence Against Reporters in Georgia
- 03/05/2024 – Georgia’s Ranking Drops 26 Places, Landing at 103rd in RSF Press Freedom Ranking
- 03/05/2023 – Georgia Ranks 77th in RSF Press Freedom Ranking
- 03/05/2022 – Georgia Slips in Press Freedom Ranking
- 20/04/2021 – Georgia in RSF Press Freedom Index 2021