The Daily Beat: 5 March
After 48 days, Temur Katamadze ended his hunger strike today, March 5. This followed his transfer from the detention center to the medical facility early this morning amid reports of his seriously deteriorating health. He has not yet commented on his decision, but his struggle does not seem to be over. Temur Katamadze (Gaffar Yilmaz), 57, a Turkish citizen of Georgian origin, has been living in Georgia since 2012. Katamadze became known to the wider public as the “flagbearer” of Batumi protests until his arrest in mid-January.
Tbilisi City Court judge Irakli Shvangiradze ruled to keep 11 individuals in pretrial detention on charges of participating in group violence during the pro-EU protests near Parliament. The case, which is consolidated into a single proceeding, involves actor Andro Chichinadze, comedian Onise Tskhadadze, and nine other individuals. They have been charged for participation in group violence. For more updates on the Georgian resistance, follow our live blog: Resistance 2025.
Tbilisi City Court Judge Nino Enukidze issued a verbal warning to Gigi Gigiadze, senior researcher at the Economic Policy Research Centre and former Georgian ambassador to Denmark, after he was accused of obstructing traffic in a bus lane during protests on Chavchavadze Avenue on December 17.
The EU press office informed IPN that they are taking into account the Baltic states’ decision regarding sanctions on individuals actively involved in repressive measures in Georgia. Emphasizing its commitment to upholding democratic values and human rights, the EU reaffirmed its readiness to take further action, including the imposition of sanctions, if necessary.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the “newly elected president” of occupied Abkhazia, Badra Gunba, upon the latter’s visit to Moscow. Putin congratulated Gunba on his “victory” in the polls that Georgia and most of the international community do not recognize. During the meeting, Putin praised Gunba’s “electoral success,” highlighting the 54.7% of votes he secured in the second round with a 70% voter turnout. Gunba was reportedly Russia’s favored candidate in the polls.
The Polish newspaper Gazeta Prawna reported that, according to Andrej Juzwiak, a spokesperson for the Polish border guards, 17 Georgians were deported from Poland. He said that the deported Georgians had a “criminal past” or were in Poland without legal residence permits. Juzwiak added that they were exclusively men between the ages of 24 and 58 transported from guarded centers for foreigners throughout Poland, including from Kętrzyn, Biała Podlaska, Przemyśl, and Lesznowola.
In 2024, Georgia witnessed a dramatic deterioration in press freedom, with the country recording the steepest surge in journalist safety alerts among Council of Europe (CoE) member states, according to the Europe Press Freedom Report. The findings paint a troubling picture of escalating violence against media workers, state-driven legislative repression, and a shrinking space for independent journalism.