The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly adopted the Bucharest Declaration and several resolutions, also mentioning Georgia’s recent enactment of foreign agents’ law and the country’s democratic backsliding, describing it as “Kremlin-supported and – aligned.” The declaration calls on the authorities to halt attacks on civil society, media, and protesters. Due to the critical remarks towards the government, the ruling Georgian Dream MPs Nikoloz Samkharadze and Maka Botchorishvili objected and did not support the text.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, arrived on an official visit to Georgia, where he has already met with Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, Speaker, Shalva Papuashvili, and his Georgian counterpart, Ilia Darchiashvili. According to the MFA, the Georgian and Armenian foreign ministers held a press conference following the meeting. According to a government press release, the parties discussed various aspects of bilateral relations, with special emphasis on promoting regional peace, trade, and tourism.
The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) published the Second Addendum to the Second Compliance Report on Georgia, addressing Georgia’s implementation of recommendations for corruption prevention concerning members of parliament, judges, and prosecutors. The report finds that out of the 16 recommendations previously issued to Georgia by GRECO in 2016, nine have been implemented satisfactorily, six have been partly implemented, and one has not been implemented at all.
Reacting to the abolition of mandatory gender quotas for party lists, Kaori Ishikawa, UN Women’s Country Representative in Georgia, said UN Women was “disappointed” by the Parliament’s decision. Parliament abolished the mandatory gender quotas in an accelerated manner. The President vetoed the change, but the Parliament overturned the veto on May 15. Prior to the Parliament’s decision, the Electoral Code required that at least one out of every four persons on a party list must be a woman.
Davit Katsarava, the leader of the anti-occupation movement Power is in Unity, who was beaten so badly on May 14 that he had to be hospitalized and underwent surgery, received a letter from the court summoning him to appear before a judge on July 5, most likely for administrative offenses. Katsarava reports on social media that he expects the court hearing to be another “kangaroo court,” with police officers testifying that they had turned off their body cameras when Katsarava allegedly began swearing at them.
Zurab Lobzhanidze, a Georgian citizen who had been illegally detained by the Russian occupation forces near the occupied village of Balta on July 2, has been released and is now safe on the Tbilisi-controlled territory, the State Security Service (SSSG) reported on July 3. “The responsibility for all destructive acts committed in the occupied territories of Georgia, as well as along the occupation line, rests with the occupying power,” the SSSG said in a statement.
The Russian Universities’ Telegram channel reported that the summer school program of the “North Caucasian Federal University” located in Russia’s Stavropol region brought together 50 “young scientists” from both Russia and Georgia. The Rector of the Russian University claims that discussions, group work, and other educational activities held as part of the summer school program will further boost friendly ties between the two countries. Giorgi Kharibegashvili, a member of the openly pro-Russian and homophobic “Alt-Info” party was spotted among participants in the photos published by the Telegram channel.