The Daily Beat: 30 January
The DW reported that political scientist and DW columnist Fyodor Krasheninnikov was denied entry into Georgia upon his arrival at the Tbilisi International Airport. “Following the passport check, I was denied entry and sent back to the EU on the same plane. The reasons for such a decision remain unknown for me,” wrote Fyodor Krasheninnikov on social platform X. In Tbilisi, he planned to present a report on “Normal Russia of the Future: Yes, We Can.” In Russia, Krasheninnikov is included in the “foreign agents” list.
The civil society organizations issued a statement, calling on the parliament to ensure inclusive dialogue and an open working environment during the meetings on implementing the EU’s nine conditions. The statement reminds the parliament of the EU’s 9th condition, obliging the parliament to ensure a conducive working process and the CSO’s broad participation. Yesterday, several influential CSOs were denied participation in the parliamentary meeting on the EU’s nine conditions for not being part of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Platform.
An anti-corruption watchdog, TI-Georgia, reported that Georgia’s score on Transparency International’s 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) fell three points to 53 out of 100 (on a scale where 0 is the worst and 100 is the best result), also emphasizing that the country is experiencing a democratic backslide. “Even though Georgia maintains its leading position in the region, it has not had such a low score since 2015,” – noted the watchdog. In the 2023 CPI, Georgia ranked 49th on the list, sharing its place with Cyprus, Grenada and Rwanda.
The prosecutor’s office is ready to petition the court to apply a non-custodial measure against Giorgi Khasia and Akaki Chikobava if the defendants admit their guilt and provide compensation for the damage, reported Rustavi 2 TV, citing the prosecutor on the eviction standoff case. Akaki Chikobava and Giorgi Khasia were sentenced to pre-trial detention by the Tbilisi City Court for allegedly damaging the vehicle of the Enforcement Bureau during the violent eviction standoff in central Tbilisi.
According to the Interior Ministry (MIA), Giorgi Mindiashvili has been appointed as the new head of the Department for the Protection of Human Rights and Monitoring of the Quality of Investigations, replacing Giorgi Osadze in this post. Giorgi Osadze will continue working as the Deputy Rector of the Police Academy. Opposition media suggest that this replacement is linked to the case of former Human Rights Department employee Goga Razmadze, who spoke of irregularities and accused the ministry of “discriminatory treatment,” later leading to his dismissal.
The Data of the Day
The data from the National Statistics Office indicate that Russians dominate as the largest group of international visitors to Georgia in 2023. According to the Bureau of Statistics, most visitors to Georgia in 2023 came from the Russian Federation, accounting for 23.2% of the total from 1.2. millions of visitors. Turkey was in second place with a share of 21.4%, and Armenia was in third place with a share of 13.5%.
