On October 31, a jazz concert will take place at the Heydar Aliyev Center following the opening events of the “Fly to Baku. Art Weekend. Sense the Future NOW” project, Azernews reports.
Day: October 20, 2025
The party of former Georgian prime minister Giorgi Gakharia, For Georgia, has decided to end its political boycott and take up the mandates it won in the parliamentary and municipal elections. Giorgi Sharashidze, a member of the party’s political council, announced the decision at a briefing.
“Refusing to participate in the work of parliament and municipal councils, especially in these difficult times, is not only a mistake but a crime against the country and the people,” said Giorgi Sharashidze.
He recalled that a year ago, following the parliamentary elections, the party had unanimously decided to boycott parliament in protest against alleged election fraud and in solidarity with the broader opposition.
“Unfortunately, today we have to acknowledge that this form of political protest failed to stop the ruling Georgian Dream party’s ‘malicious machine.’ It did not prevent the de facto government from making destructive decisions—such as halting the EU integration process, passing anti-democratic laws, undermining human rights, strengthening autocracy, using violence against peaceful citizens, stealing free and fair elections, and committing many other criminal, anti-national, and anti-state actions,” Sharashidze said.
According to him, the parliamentary boycott, which effectively became a boycott of the entire political process, removed the opposition from the political arena, giving Georgian Dream the freedom to act without resistance and deepen authoritarianism.
“That is why we are beginning to restore all political tools and platforms meant to serve the people. They do not belong to Georgian Dream—they belong solely to the Georgian people! The voices and diverse opinions of Georgian citizens must be heard in the Parliament of Georgia!” Sharashidze added.
Having announced its boycott last year and refused to participate in parliament, For Georgia, unlike other opposition parties, did not annul its party lists, allowing it to reverse its decision now. As a result, 12 deputies from Giorgi Gakharia’s party will take their seats in parliament belatedly. Gakharia himself remains in Germany, as he faces criminal prosecution in Georgia.
Giorgi Gakharia’s party
Pro-government channel imedi TV has accused the European Commission of illegally funding Georgian civil society groups it says are behind anti-government protests. In a report aired on October 19, Imedi claimed that nearly one million euros were transferred to a local non-governmental organization by bypassing the Georgian version of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) through an exemption meant for humanitarian work.
The Sunday program Imedi Week claimed to have uncovered a “detailed scheme of big money transfers benefiting radical rallies while bypassing the Georgian FARA.” The report, aired on October 19, alleged that the European Commission, through its project “Emergency Support for Human Rights Protection in Georgia”, transferred 868,990 euros in two installments – in May and August – to the Georgian Center for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (GCRT), a local civil society organization, which it said later distributed the money to other civil society groups “financing protests.” According to Imedi, the GCRT additionally received 110,000 euros from the Trust Fund for Victims, a victims’ reparations body connected to the International Criminal Court.
The report said that GCRT had distributed the money to eleven local CSOs: Georgia’s Future Academy, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, Sapari, Indigo Foundation, Rights Georgia, the Democracy Research Institute, Temida, the Social Justice Center, the Human Rights Center, the Media Institute, and the Marneuli Democratic Women’s Association.
“The main activity of these organizations and their leaders in recent years has been supporting protest rallies,” the report said, adding, “Most of them defend people detained during protests or help post their bail.” The report also claimed that the funds from the European Commission were “used to sustain the protests and provide legal aid to participants.”
The Georgian Dream–adopted version of the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) took effect on May 31. The law, a direct translation of the American FARA, requires those deemed “agents of a foreign principal” to register in a special registry administered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Those who fail to comply face severe penalties, including criminal prosecution and prison terms.
In August, seven Georgian CSOs said they received inspection notices under FARA from the Anti-Corruption Bureau, which is close to the ruling party and claimed they were engaged in political activities. The groups, however, have not complied. Later that month, authorities froze the bank accounts of several CSOs under “sabotage” investigation, claiming that they funded the anti-government rallies in 2024.
The law does not apply, among other exemptions, to work related to “soliciting or collecting funds and contributions within Georgia to be used only for medical aid and assistance, or for food and clothing to relieve human suffering.” Imedi claims the alleged EU money transfer took place by bypassing this exemption.
According to the Imedi report, GCRT also distributed money in September to individual human rights defenders, including lawyers who often represent protest-related detainees in court.
A network of twelve Georgian CSOs have offered free legal aid to the victims of authorities’ cracdown on their freedoms os assembly and association. The organizations said on October 10, “As a result of the enactment of repressive and anti-democratic laws, part of the organizations had to suspend work, while another part continue to protect human rights with what is left minimum resources and personal efforts.”
A network of twelve Georgian CSOs has offered free legal aid to victims of the authorities’ crackdown on freedom of assembly and association. In an October 10 joint statement, they said that “as a result of the enactment of repressive and anti-democratic laws, some organizations have been forced to suspend their work, while others continue to defend human rights with the few remaining resources and through personal efforts.”
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