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The Daily Beat: 2 February

Dozens of protesters, including civic activists, opposition leaders, and journalists, were brutally attacked and arrested by police on Sunday afternoon when a large crowd gathered near the Tbilisi Mall and attempted to block the highway into Tbilisi. The infamous head of the Interior Ministry’s Special Task Forces unit, Zviad Kharazishvili (Khareba), personally participated in the violence. Video footage also shows that Kharazishvili was swearing at the protesters through a loudspeaker. For more updates, tap our live blog: Resistance.


Even the habitually lethargic Public Defender Levan Ioseliani, was forced to issue a swift statement on the brutal crackdown on protesters, saying that “the facts of improper treatment and excessive use of force by the police against citizens, journalists, and politicians, which are reflected in the video footage distributed in public sources, are disturbing.


Two days before a major protest, the GD government addedhighways of state and international importance” to the list of strategic facilities, criminalizing the blocking of highways by protesters. The decision comes in advance of a mass protest scheduled for February 2, at the entrance of Tbilisi with planned blocking of the highway. Meanwhile, on February 1, police searched the houses of several activists involved in the protests.


GD Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili accused the online media outlet Publika of promoting unlawful activity by sharing a statement from organizers of a planned protest on February 2, while also criticizing the EU, one of Publika’s funding sources. In response, Publika defended its journalistic duty, and several CSOs condemned Papuashvili’s remarks as an attack on press freedom, accusing him of trying to intimidate journalists and incite hostility against them. 


Georgia’s four main opposition forces issued a joint appeal to the Syrian authorities, calling on the country’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, to withdraw the recognition of Russian-occupied Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia as independent states. The letter expressed support for what the signatories described as the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship and the transition to new governance in Syria. GD government has not yet officially commented on the regime change in Syria.


GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze welcomed President Trump’s recent decision to suspend all foreign funding for three months, saying he hoped the funding would not resume for a long time. He said this would “contribute to the stable development of our country”, adding that “this is a black day for the radical opposition.” Kobakhidze also accused the former U.S. administration of financing “revolutionary processes and unrest” in Georgia.


On January 31, Sergei Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of Putin’s Administration, visited occupied Abkhazia, holding meetings with de-facto leader Valery Bganba and “parliamentary speaker” Lasha Ashuba. There are also indications that Kiriyenko also met with Moscow’s favored candidate in the snap Abkhaz “presidential elections” Badra Gunba.  Rumors suggest that Kiriyenko is a new curator of the occupied Georgian region.


The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) issued a critical assessment of alleged amendments to diplomatic service regulations introduced by GD Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili. According to GYLA, the amendments lead to the complete subordination of the diplomatic service to the interests of the ruling party, substantially worsening the legal status of diplomats. Diplomats themselves remain tight-lipped on their potential subjugation to the GD.  


The report issued by Transparency International Georgia, provides a detailed analysis of the case against opposition activist Saba Skhvitaridze, concluding that the investigation is a deliberate fabrication involving state institutions. TI-Georgia claims the case is politically motivated and represents a coordinated effort by law enforcement to persecute Skhvitaridze for his opposition activities, including protests against Georgia’s Foreign Agents’ Law.

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