The Daily Beat: 16 March
Georgian Dream’s Foreign Minister, Maka Botchorishvili, met with U.S. Ambassador Robin Dunnigan on March 14. This meeting took place amid ongoing tensions between Georgia and its Western partners, as well as the Georgian Dream’s increased promotion of conspiracy theories about a “deep state” and a “Global War Party.” This was the first meeting between the U.S. Ambassador and Botchorishvili since the elections on October 26 and her subsequent appointment.
In a recent statement, the US Embassy in Georgia announced that Ambassador Dunnigan conveyed the top priorities of President Trump and Secretary Rubio. He outlined steps that Georgia can take to demonstrate its commitment to improving its relationship with the United States. Contrary to the Embassy’s statement, the foreign ministry emphasized that the meeting reaffirmed the significance of the U.S.-Georgia partnership, characterizing it as based on “shared values and interests.”
Georgian Dream leaders, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, doubled down on the “deep state” narrative during appearances on pro-government channels TV Imedi and Rustavi 2. This intensified messaging, linking their values to those of former U.S. President Donald Trump, comes at a time of low U.S.-Georgia relations and increasing international isolation for Georgia. You can read more about GD’s strongmen’s intensified conspiracy narratives here.
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in its Urgent Opinion dated March 6, said that the recent legislative amendments adopted by the Georgian Dream fail to comply with Georgia’s obligations under international human rights law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The Social Justice Center is calling for a complete reform of Georgia’s Administrative Offenses Code, stating that it violates international human rights standards. They argue that the Georgian Dream has increasingly used administrative detention to stifle protests and dissent. Significant reform is needed to address the flawed “Soviet-era” code, requiring political will from the government and input from public and academic groups.
Gela Mtivlishvili, editor-in-chief of the “Mtis Ambebi” claims that he was attacked by an armed officer of the Interior Ministry on the highway, in the vicinity of the village of Tserovani in central Georgia. The Media Advocacy Coalition has condemned the March 15 attack on Gela Mtivlishvili, editor-in-chief of the “Mtis Ambebi” publication, emphasizing that “this fact confirms that media representatives in Georgia work in an environment that poses a threat to their lives and health.”
On March 13, Giorgi Shalutashvili, the Rector of Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film State University, overturned a previous decision to revoke the student status of ten protesters. These students had been demonstrating inside the university building for months in response to the Georgian Dream party’s reversal of EU policy and in solidarity with all detained protesters. The initial decision to suspend the students’ status led to calls for solidarity from other protesters and also caused internal dissent among the academic staff.
The Prosecutor’s Office submitted a request to the Public Registry yesterday, March 13, to freeze the scammers’ assets after a viral journalistic investigation revealed their operations. The inquiry by independent journalists, published on March 5, uncovered two call centers in Tbilisi owned by the LTD A.K. Group, which defrauded more than USD 35 million from thousands of victims worldwide between 2022 and 2025.
The Tbilisi City Court heard the case of Russian citizens Anastasia Zinovkina and Artem Gribul on March 14. Charged for possession of large quantities of drugs, they face sentences of eight to 20 years or life imprisonment. The defense argued that the arrests were politically motivated and linked them to the couple’s involvement in the protests.