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The Daily Beat: 26 January

A ghost database containing millions of records on Georgian citizens has emerged in the cloud and then mysteriously vanished, according to the cyber data leak checker Cybernews. They report that this leak leaves sensitive personal data potentially at risk of being exploited by malicious actors. The sensitive personal data, according to Cybernews, included ID numbers, full names, birthdays, genders, certificate-like numbers, and phone numbers with descriptive information about the owner.


On the morning of January 24, ticket machines for public transport in Tbilisi, including buses and minibusses, were reportedly hacked, playing audio recordings featuring pro-European messages and songs, reflecting the ongoing pro-European rallies and notable statements made by Georgian politicians. Tbilisi City Hall soon announced that the machines would be shut down ‘due to an alleged cyber-attack’ and that public transport would be free until the technical problem was resolved. 


Giorgi Gakharia, leader of the opposition “For Georgia” party, claimed that the attack against him resembled premeditated political revenge and was ordered by Bidzina Ivanishvili. Gakharia said Ivanishvili had been threatening him and his family “in various forms” for a long time, including publicly. He said he was not focusing on the perpetrators of the attack, but only on the “mastermind behind it” – Bidzina Ivanishvili, whom he described as “the main architect of violence.


GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated that the so-called “deep state” and the Global War Party are responsible for the outbreak of war in Ukraine, further asserting that any war, including the 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict, could have been prevented. Speaking with journalists in the western Georgian town of Zestaponi, Kobakhidze also slammed the ongoing pro-European protests, labeling them as an attempted “revolution” by opposition groups.


A day earlier, Irakli Kobakhidze stated that the Georgian Dream party is pleased to have a “convergence of values” with Donald Trump. He expressed a desire to reset U.S.-Georgia relations and to “start with a clean slate.” However, Kobakhidze noted that much hinges on how Trump addresses the U.S. “deep state.” “Much depends on how President Trump’s administration manages to completely defeat the “deep state” in the U.S.,” Kobakhidze said.


Foreign Affairs Committee Chair of the GD Parliament, Nikoloz Samkharadze, described the GD’s policies of the past two years as a “policy of survival.” Samkharadze asserted that Georgia has had neither a domestic nor a foreign policy in recent years, but a “policy of survival” to save the country from the war which, he noted, Russia perceives as the “war against the West.


International Press Institute, Press freedom, journalists, and human rights organizations have called on the Georgian government to “immediately and unconditionally release veteran Georgian journalist” and director of Batumelebi/Netgazeti, Mzia Amaghlobeli. The statement condemned what it described as an “unprecedented crackdown on the media” and urged authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into allegations of mistreatment against Amaghlobeli during her detention.


In a joint letter, Georgia’s female opposition politicians also call on the international community to advocate for the immediate release of imprisoned journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli. They call on the international community to use any platform to demand Amaghlobeli’s release with the hashtag #FreedomForMzia. They urged the “Ivanishvili regime,” to stop repressing the free press and redirect frozen funds to civil society and media.


Following the visit to Georgia, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty issued an official statement, expressing concern about the “lack of accountability for allegations of unlawful arrests” and “excessive use of force” by police and unidentified masked individuals during protests. The Commissioner also expressed concern over recent repressive amendments to various laws, as well as about the Foreign Agents and anti-LGBT laws.

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