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The Daily Beat: 19 January

As demonstrators continue to gather in the streets of Tbilisi, Batumi, and other cities across Georgia to protest the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) government’s pro-Russian stance, the regime is increasingly resorting to arrests and other repressive measures targeting civic activists, journalists, and protesters. Nearly all people in detention report the use of excessive force, mistreatment, and verbal abuse by police officers. For more updates, visit our Liveblog: Resistance.


Saba Buadze, a member of the opposition party Strong Georgia, reported that he was attacked in central Tbilisi. In a Facebook post, he described how he and his team members were confronted by “provocateurs” who approached them seemingly by chance. These individuals were swearing, carrying knives, and throwing stones. Buadze remarked, “I do not even tag the Ministry of Internal Affairs,” referring to the lack of investigations into previous attacks by Titushky against peaceful protesters.


In the meantime, the Special Investigation Service (SIS) claims that it is actively investigating incidents of violence against demonstrators and journalists that occurred during protests over the past few months. However, no perpetrators have been held accountable so far. According to the SIS, 52 individuals have been granted victim status, and a total of 343 people have been questioned, which includes 49 journalists.


In its World Report 2025, Human Rights Watch noted that Georgia experienced a significant deterioration in human rights throughout 2024, marked by the adoption of repressive legislation and violent responses to peaceful protests. The report also stresses that the Georgian government drove the country toward a human rights crisis. “The government is relentlessly taking the country into a repressive era that is uncharted for Georgia but all too familiar in authoritarian states,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia Director at Human Rights Watch.


As journalists and civic activists continue to face imprisonment, GD President Mikheil Kavelashvili granted clemency to 613 convicts on Epiphany Day, citing the principles of humanism and state interests. However, opposition politicians and civic activists voiced skepticism about the unusually large number of pardons, suggesting that this clemency measure may be politically motivated.


On January 17, GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, accompanied by a government delegation, visited Baku, where he met with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Ali Asadov. At a joint press conference, Kobakhidze and Aliyev stressed the importance of trade and economic relations, emphasizing the Middle Corridor project’s role. President Aliyev expressed confidence that the success of the Georgian Dram at the elections would bring stability to the South Caucasus region.


While the GD Prime Minister departed for Baku, President Salome Zurabishvili headed to Washington D.C. to attend the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on January 20. She has held meetings with nominees for the State and Defense Secretaries, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth, as well as with Donald Trump Jr., and Scott Mastic, the vice president of IRI. President Zurabishvili stated that the main message she brings to D.C. is that the current regime in Georgia “cannot legitimately represent the Georgian people.


In an interview with Fox News on January 19, President Salome Zurabishvili laid out the stakes of Georgia’s political unrest, warning of the dangers for the country and of strategic implications for U.S. interests in the Caucasus region. Highlighting the threat posed by Russian influence and the “puppet” government, Zurabishvili called for renewed American attention to the region, emphasizing Georgia’s pivotal role in the Black Sea and broader geopolitical context.

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