The Daily Beat: 18 March
The ruling Georgian Dream party plans to introduce “mandatory treatment” as a punishment for individuals convicted of drug-related crimes. Mamuka Mdinaradze, a leader of the Georgian Dream (GD), announced this measure during a briefing on March 17. He stated that this approach will be applied in “special cases” involving drug-related criminal offenses, but not administrative ones.
Georgian Dream Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili visited India to participate in the Raisina Dialogue, a high-level international conference organized by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF). Botchorishvili participated in the panel discussion and is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and representatives of other participating countries.
Levan Varshalomidze, a member of the Unity-UNM and former chairman of the Government of Adjara, was detained in Kazakhstan on March 18. Levan Bezhashvili from the UNM party stated that Varshalomidze risks extradition to Russia due to an alleged indictment related to his political consulting with the Ukrainian government.
The Batumi City Court held a hearing in the case of detained journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli, director of Batumelebi and Netgazeti. The trial was postponed until March 31 after her lawyers submitted a request for new evidence. The defense also sought the disqualification of Judge Nino Sakhelashvili, citing her lack of qualifications in criminal law. For updates on the Amaghlobeli case and protest-related trials, follow our live blog: Resistance 2025.
The Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ) announced that TrialWatch, which provides free legal aid to support free speech worldwide, intends to monitor the trial of Mzia Amaghlobeli, the jailed journalist and director of online media outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti.
A journalist from the online publication Publika, Alexander Keshelashvili, who was brutally beaten and arrested in late November last year, was found guilty and given a verbal warning by Tbilisi City Court Judge Nino Enukidze. Keshelashvili was charged with disobeying a lawful order of a police officer and petty hooliganism.
Miners in Chiatura have been protesting since early March due to Georgian Manganese, their largest employer, failing to resume operations and not paying promised salaries. This has led to a severe financial crisis in the town, which heavily relies on the mining industry. To read more on Chiatura protests and industry shutdown, tap here.