The Daily Beat: 6 August
International watchdogs, Amnesty International, and the IPI – The Global Network for Independent Media urged the Georgian authorities against the extradition of critical Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigov to Azerbaijan. Sadigov was arrested in Tbilisi on August 3.
Eastern European Centre for Multiparty Democracy (EECMD) responded to the “negative campaign” of the Georgian Dream representatives against “Democracy Festival (DemFest)”, which was organized by the EECMD and financed by the “Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy”. In a statement posted on Facebook, the EECMD says that the ruling party used the event, which was attended by political parties, NGOs, and other guests, to justify the adoption of the Foreign Agents Law and to accuse the Danish government of “interfering” in Georgia’s internal affairs.
On August 2, local watchdog Transparency International-Georgia released quarterly data on political donations to Georgian political parties, suggesting that in the second quarter of 2024, the parties received GEL 2 million. The ruling Georgian Dream party received half the donations, GEL 1 million, less than it usually receives in the corresponding periods of other election years.
According to local Abkhaz media, the de facto president of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, has appointed Sergei Shamba as the de facto foreign minister of the occupied region. Before this appointment, Shamba held the post of de facto secretary of the so-called Security Council.
Opposition Mtavari Arkhi and Formula TV reported that the U.S. had suspended financial aid to the Constitutional Court. According to media reports, the suspension concerns the USAID-funded rule of law program, which provides annual training for judges of the Constitutional Court. Media reports also suggest that the Court confirmed the information about the suspension of the US-funded program.
On August 5, the Prosecutor’s Office charged Vitali Guguchia, the person who, in a video that went viral, reprimanded Georgian Dream spin-off People’s Power MP Viktor Japaridze for the adoption of the Foreign Agents Law, with obstructing the journalistic activities of the journalist and cameraman of pro-government channel PosTV. The following day, Tbilisi City Court Judge Ekaterina Bebia ordered Vitali Guguchia to pay bail of GEL 5,000 (USD 1,900.)
The remains of 16 people missing as a result of the 1992–1993 war in Abkhazia were returned to their families, the Office of State Minister of Georgia for Reconciliation and Civic Equity reported. Seven of them were military personnel, while nine were civilians killed in the conflict. The transfer took place as a result of the cooperation between the Office of the State Minister and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), within the framework of the coordination mechanism which involves both Georgian and Abkhazian participants.
