The Daily Beat: 6 November

Russian occupying forces shot dead a Georgian citizen and abducted another near the Tskhinvali Region occupation line. According to the State Security Service, the shooting happened during an attempt to make an illegal arrest of Georgian citizens. “Active communication is underway using all tools available to the Government of Georgia,” said Security Service in a brief statement. This is the first casualty in Russia-occupied Tskhinvali Region since February 2018, when Georgian citizen Archil Tatunashvili was brutally tortured and killed.

President Salome Zurabishvili decried the killing of a Georgian citizen, describing it as a blatant attack on Georgian statehood and “exposing the true nature of the ‘coreligionist brother.’” President also called on the international community to condemn Russia’s actions, accusing Russia of shamelessly violating all international norms.

Head of the European Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), Ambassador Toivo Klaar, pretty strangely reacted on X (formerly Twitter) to the shooting incident near the occupation line, calling it “A very serious development that demonstrates the continued human costs of the Georgian conflict.” Some reply posts delicately reminded the Ambassador of the EUMM mandate, highlighting the conflict in Georgia and the EU Council conclusion, mentioning “the open conflict that has broken out between Russia and Georgia.”

In a Facebook post, the ruling Georgian Dream chairman, Irakli Kobakhidze, said that occupation claimed another life of a Georgian citizen, further adding: “Russia’s occupation of Georgian territories is the gravest legacy of the treacherous policies of the previous government, which we have to deal with in everyday life.”

As Georgia awaits the release of the EC enlargement report on Wednesday, Rikard Jozwiak, Europe editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, forecasted that Georgia will receive the EU candidate status “in the end,” however, it is likely to be conditional. Rikard Jozwiak described Georgia’s EU candidate status as one of the “most difficult decisions for the European Commission,” adding that it “might not issue any clear recommendations” but instead present the findings and “be vague about the next steps.”

Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili met with the Latvian Foreign Minister Krišjānis Kariņš in Riga, discussing Georgia’s integration into the European Union. According to the Foreign Ministry, FM Darchiashvili briefed his Latvian counterpart on the progress in implementing the European Commission’s 12 recommendations and stressed the importance of EU member states’ support for Georgia’s EU candidacy. On his part, the Latvian Foreign Minister noted that Georgia needs to demonstrate alignment with the EU foreign policy, especially about Russia.”

Tbilisi City Court told Civil.ge that the former head of the City Hall’s Environmental Protection Department and the expert of the City Hall’s contractor company had been sentenced to prison terms in the “Vake Park” case. In addition, the court also fined the companies involved in rehabilitating the “Vake Park” fountain. On October 13, 2022, 13-year-old Marita Meparishvili was electrocuted and died while trying to remove the ball from the “Vake Park” fountain.