The Daily Beat: 4 August
Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigov, editor-in-chief of Azel.tv, has been arrested in Tbilisi and allegedly faces extradition. The Azerbaijani journalist, known to be critical of the Azerbaijani government, was denied permission to leave Tbilisi’s international airport for Turkey on July 17 and was told by border control officials that he could only fly to Azerbaijan.
iFact, a local media outlet focused on investigative journalism, has unveiled through its investigation and analysis of trade statistics that Georgia is involved in maintaining Russia’s military supply chain despite international sanctions. According to iFact’s investigation, key items such as drones, computer processors, GPS devices, and memory cards are reaching Russia through Georgia.
On August 1, speaking with the Spanish news agency Europa Press, EU Foreign and Security Policy Lead Spokesperson Peter Stano reiterated the EU’s “serious concern” over the adoption of the law on Foreign Agents in Georgia and recent developments in the country and said that the EU is considering cutting off aid to the government in response.
Tbilisi City Court has sentenced former President Mikheil Saakashvili to pre-trial detention for illegal border crossing. The judge, Mikheil Jinjolia, stated that the reason for applying this preventive measure is the reasonable assumption that Saakashvili (already imprisoned) might hide or not appear before the court. Saakashvili’s lawyer believes that this is a politically motivated, unjustified, and illegal decision to apply pre-trial detention to a person who is already imprisoned and serving a 3-year sentence.
Meanwhile, Saakashvili’s mother, Giuli Alasania, claims that after Friday’s court hearing, Mikheil Saakashvili was transferred to another block of the Viva Medi hospital, where even his room does not have a TV. Saakashvili’s mother and supporters suspect that Saakashvili will be transferred back to prison before the October parliamentary elections.
Zelimkhan Khangoshvili‘s brother, Zurab Khangoshvili, says he is disappointed that he was not informed of Vadim Krasikov‘s release. According to Zurab Khangoshvili, he is happy with the release of those arrested by Russia, and Zelimkhan’s family would not refuse to hand Krasikov over to Russia in exchange for their release. Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, an ethnic Kist/Chechen from Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge, was shot dead at close range in central Berlin in 2019. Russian FSB hitman Vadim Krasikov, serving a prison sentence for the murder of Khangoshvili, was released in a complex prisoner swap last week.
The Data of the Day
On August 2, the National Statistics Office (Geostat) reported that Georgia’s annual inflation rate remained low at 1.8% in July 2024. Monthly, meanwhile, consumer prices grew by 0.4%. The annual inflation rate was primarily driven by price changes in transport (9.4% increase); alcoholic beverages and tobacco (4.3% increase); food and non-alcoholic beverages (1.4% increase); and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels (2.8% decrease).
