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Day: April 8, 2026
📄Georgia’s Place in a Changing South Caucasus: Preserving Relevance Amid Regional Transformation
Read the new policy brief authored by Elmira Amiraslanova, IDD Junior Research Fellow. ⬇️
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— Institute for Development and Diplomacy (@IDD_ADA) Apr 8, 2026
Under a government decision, fines totalling about 1 billion lari ($370m) have been written off for 157 companies in Georgia’s energy sector.
Authorities say the move is part of a “conditional write-off” scheme. Companies fined for network failures, periodic power outages, budget arrears and unmet obligations will have their penalties cancelled, provided they comply with deadlines in the future. If they fail to do so, the fines will be reinstated.
The government says the measure will allow energy companies to restore their resources.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said the decision had been taken several months ago and the process has now been completed. He added that some companies declined the offer, meaning projects with a capacity of 535 MW will be terminated, while projects totalling 1,500 MW will continue.
Context
On 30 March 2026, it was announced that electricity tariffs in Georgia would increase. Household consumers will see prices rise by 5 tetri (about $0.02), while the commercial sector will face an average increase of 4–6 tetri ($0.01–0.02). Overall, tariffs have risen by 33%.
The higher tariffs came into effect on 1 April.
According to Georgia’s National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC), the main reasons for the increase are the country’s reliance on electricity imports and higher purchase prices.
The commission also said that planned investments for the new tariff period are affecting prices. These investments are aimed at gradually upgrading the electricity distribution system and reducing the number of outages. Officials say this will improve the reliability of electricity supply and reduce the frequency of disruptions for consumers.
Fines written off for energy companies in Georgia
Three minors – Aleksandre Gabashvili, Giorgi Rikadze and Demetre Chikovani – were found guilty and sentenced to multiple years in prison in the high-profile murder case of 28-year-old teacher Giga Avaliani.
Tbilisi City Court Judge Romeo Tkeshelashvili, who delivered the guilty verdict on April 5, handed down the sentences on April 8. Their jail terms were reduced automatically by one-fourth under the juvenile justice code.
Aleksandre Gabashvili, the main defendant in the case, was sentenced to 14 years in prison, but will serve ten and a half years. He was convicted under Georgia’s Criminal Code for intentional infliction of serious harm to health resulting in death, committed by a group (Article 117), in the Avaliani case, and organizing and participating in group activity accompanied by violence (Article 225) in the Avaliani case and four other episodes.
Giorgi Rikadze, Gabashvili’s friend, who recorded the attack on Avaliani on the phone, faced identical charges and received the same sentence, serving ten and a half years.
Demetre Chikovani, another friend of Gabashvili, was accused of attempted intentional infliction of serious harm to health in the Avaliani case and organizing group violence in that case and four other incidents. He was sentenced to nine years in prison and will serve six years and nine months.
Avaliani, a 28-year-old doctor and private tutor, was attacked late at night on October 1, 2025, near the entrance to his apartment block in Tbilisi. He was hospitalized with critical head injuries and fell into a coma, and died on October 24.
The guilty verdicts follow protests by the victim’s mother, Eka Kupatadze, who publicly criticized the investigation and demanded accountability of all those involved in her son’s murder, including those who allegedly knew about the planned attack on Avaliani and did not inform the police. Among the family’s key demands was that the investigation be upgraded to a group crime qualification.
In February, Georgia’s Prosecutor General’s Office accused the three defendants, who were already in pretrial detention in Avaliani’s case, of taking part in group violence in four additional episodes.
According to the authorities, Gabashvili, Rikadze, and Chikovani, together with other individuals, “used various communication methods to impersonate girls, lured selected victims outside, arranged meetings at preselected times and locations, and subjected them to group physical assaults, including brutal beatings and verbal abuse.” All four episodes, like Avaliani’s case, occurred in Tbilisi in 2025.
Also Read:
Number of cases against Georgia at ECHR on the rise
The number of complaints filed against Georgia with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has increased significantly in recent years, according to the Social Justice Center (SJC). The trend is reflected both in court statistics and in the rate of implementation of the court’s judgments..
According to an analysis published by the Social Justice Center (SJC), the number of complaints against Georgia has been rising sharply since 2017. In 2016, 74 complaints were filed with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The figure increased steadily in subsequent years, reaching 197 in 2025 — more than double.
The number of pending cases has also grown. While 155 cases against Georgia were under consideration in 2022, this rose to 227 by 2025.
The number of complaints communicated to the Georgian government has likewise increased. There were 23 such cases in 2021, 38 in 2024, and 50 in 2025. Communication by the ECHR indicates that a complaint has been deemed sufficiently substantiated to proceed to examination on the merits.
The centre also highlights the problem of non-enforcement of court rulings. According to the Council of Europe, around 200 judgments have been delivered against Georgia. However, the Committee of Ministers has closed supervision in only 125 cases — 61.5% of the total — while the rest remain under execution.
By this measure, Georgia ranks among the lowest-performing Council of Europe member states, placing fourth from the bottom.
As of 13 December 2025, there were 78 judgments against Georgia that remained unimplemented. Of these, 48 cases were under enhanced supervision and 29 under standard supervision.
Enhanced supervision typically concerns systemic and wide-ranging issues. In recent years, the number of leading cases in this category has also increased, rising from five in 2021 to 10 in 2026.
The length of supervision remains a serious challenge. Five cases under enhanced supervision have been ongoing for more than five years, while nine cases under standard supervision have also remained unimplemented for an extended period.
On 28 March 2026, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe published its 2025 report on the execution of ECHR judgments. It noted that while some countries have made clear progress, systemic problems persist — including in Georgia.
From a financial perspective, Georgia paid around $750,000 in compensation in 2025, a sharp increase from the previous year, when the figure stood at about $85,000.
Since ratifying the European Convention on Human Rights in 1999, a total of 202 cases have been brought against Georgia before the ECHR.
Of these, 82 are classified as “leading” cases, involving systemic issues, while 120 are considered repetitive cases.
A total of 125 cases have been closed, meaning the judgments have been fully executed.
Number of cases against Georgia at ECHR on the rise