Yuri Kim, U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs, slammed false narratives by Georgia’s ruling party, including about the opening of a “second front” in Georgia, the infamous “Global War Party” conspiracy theory and allegations about the former U.S. ambassador’s involvement in coup plots. She called them all “fake news.” “When you claim that the United States wants to open up a second front in Georgia, that is fake news!” Kim said.
The draft apartment law, envisaging the construction and facilitation of the purchase by the non-residents of thousands of apartments in the eastern part of the occupied region, has been withdrawn “in order to ease tensions and preserve stability.” The so-called parliament of the occupied region said that this decision was made taking into account the “public opinion, first of all the Council of Elders, heroes of the patriotic war of the people of Abkhazia, representatives of scientific circles, intellectuals and other concerned citizens.”
Two media crews, one from opposition-leaning Mtavari TV and another from regional TV Monitoring, were targeted in a single day, and verbally and physically assaulted on July 25 in connection with their professional duties. Mtavari TV blamed government-led thugs for the attack on its crew, while the TV Monitoring crew was attacked by minibus drivers who were unhappy with a report aired on their TV station several days earlier.
Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze floated the possibility of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, standing for President. Asked by a journalist what kind of President Bidzina Ivanishvili would be, Bregadze said that “if he [Ivanishvili] decides to stand, I am sure he will be the best President in Georgia’s history.” He said he does not know who the ruling party’s nominee will be.
On July 25, the Georgian National Communications Commission has issued a written warning to opposition-leaning Mtavari TV for airing video clips in July that negatively portrayed Georgian Dream MPs who supported the Foreign Agents law. The Commission said: “The mentioned television broadcasted video clips, where those members of the Parliament who supported the law “On transparency of foreign influence” were shown and named in a negative context.”
