The Daily Beat: 9 February
Davit Matikashvili, the chairman of the committee on procedural issues and rules of the Georgian Dream (GD) parliament, said the GD parliament partially staffed the commission that is aimed at investigating the “crimes” of the former United National Movement (UNM) government. He also threatened that the refusal to cooperate with the commission would result in criminal liability.
On February 6, the Georgian Dream parliament approved in the third reading amendments to its rules of procedure, dumping protesting civil servants and legalizing fake opposition groups. The changes also include several revisions affecting the status of institutions operating within the parliament. Tap here to read more on these amendments.
Kristine Botkoveli (a.k.a. Nancy Woland), a leading activist in the ongoing protests in Georgia, says police forced her to strip naked during a search of her house on February 1. Former public defender Nino Lomjaria claims Woland’s case is not isolated. Lomjaria, says there have been reports from women that they were “forced to strip and do squats during detention and searches,” though she noted that women may be reluctant to share these stories for fear of the public spotlight.
On February 7, the Social Justice Center (SJC) raised serious concerns over the rapidly deteriorating health condition of Afgan Sadygov, a critical Azerbaijani journalist who has been on a hunger strike for 142 days while facing the imminent risk of extradition from Georgia to Azerbaijan. According to the watchdog, on February 2, after months of refusing food, Sadygov escalated his protest by declaring an absolute hunger strike.
The founding congress of the “Georgian Public Assembly” was held at “Theatre Factory 42,” officially establishing the organization, which aims to facilitate a peaceful and strategic solution to the current crisis and to return the country to the path of a democratic republic, a constitutional state and of European integration. 2,000 citizens and more than 20 social groups have united to protect and promote European values, as they announced.
Mamuka Khazaradze, the leader of the opposition coalition Strong Georgia, has called on Giorgi Gakharia‘s Party to renounce its parliamentary mandates. He argued that just as the international community had isolated the “illegitimate government” of the GD, it was equally important to isolate them internally, leaving them no room for maneuver and “putting them in their place legally.”
The foreign ministry confirmed to Civil.ge that two more Georgian citizens, Davit Dvalshvili and Mamuka Beria, were killed while fighting in Ukraine. This latest casualty brings to 65 the unofficial death toll of Georgian citizens who have died fighting in Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022.
In response to a new wave of repressive legislation tabled by the Georgian Dream parliament, the High Representative/Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas, and Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said that the Georgian Dream authorities take “further steps away from democratic standards” and called on GD to “release all journalists, activists and political detainees.”
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, in a telephone conversation with GD prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze, noted with “great regret” the GD authorities’ decision not to participate in the joint working group that would amend the Foreign Agents Law, contrary to what was discussed and agreed during Berset’s visit to Georgia in December 2024.