The Daily Beat: 9 June
On June 8, the incumbent leader of the opposition United National Movement (UNM), Levan Khabeishvili, announced that he would step down as party leader and at the upcoming UNM congress will propose the candidacy of the UNM Parliamentary faction leader, Tina Bokuchava to replace him. Khabeishvili cited health reasons and the “strong recommendation” of doctors to avoid intensive work for “2-3 months,” referring to his severe beating by police.
The leadership of the ruling Georgian Dream party downplayed the importance of the US-imposed visa restrictions on Georgian officials, saying that the US travel bans can’t be regarded seriously when it comes to the country’s security interests and “motherland.” “No one is afraid of these sanctions. We’ve already said it once…. It’s not a problem for someone, to either go or not go somewhere, for me it is of no essential importance when we are talking about the country and homeland,” GD Secretary General and Tbilisi Mayor, Kakha Kaladze told journalists.
The de facto leader of the Russian-occupied Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, told the Russian media outlet Ria Novosti that Sokhumi and Moscow are working to simplify “border” control. Bzhania, who is participating in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, also reportedly expressed hope that there will be no checkpoint at all in the future.
State Security Service (SSSG) reported the arrest of two Georgian citizens for links to the terrorist “Islamic State,” who were charged with the illegal purchase and storage of firearms and ammunition. According to SSSG, automatic rifles, pistols, hand grenades, flags with symbols of the terrorist organization “Islamic State” and various types of evidence were removed from the residences of the arrested persons.
State Security Service reported that the Russian occupation forces in the vicinity of the occupied town of Tskhinvali illegally detained a Georgian citizen. The SSSG said that upon receiving information about the incident, it activated the EUMM “hotline.” According to SSSG, all existing mechanisms have been activated to ensure a prompt release of the detained Georgian citizen.
On June 7, the Central Election Commission issued a statement, complaining about the persisting “unverified, baseless, and damaging statements about the election process” ahead of the October parliamentary elections. The CEC claims that such statements and assessments are spread from abroad as well. The Commission’s statement echoes the ruling party’s long-standing narrative about an alleged incitement of revolution by CSOs and the Western foundations.
Niko Managadze, an activist, representative of the Student Movement for Freedom, and one of the students protesting Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s lecture at Tbilisi State University, was attacked and beaten by thugs on the street in daylight. Thugs stopped beating the bleeding Managadze and ran away only after the passers-by joined the fight to help him out. The witnesses recorded a video in which the attackers can be identified.
The Interior Ministry tightened the rules for acquiring gas weapons. From June 7, a person wishing to either purchase or register a gas weapon in addition to passing a special test, must now also obtain a permit from a person of authority at a territorial unit [police station] of the Interior Ministry and then submit it to the Service Agency, according to the amendments which have been made to the relevant order of the interior minister.
