The Daily Beat: 16 April
The Georgian Dream parliament today, April 16, rubber-stamped changes to the country’s Law on Grants, requiring foreign donors to obtain executive approval before disbursing funds to local organizations. The changes, which were rushed through the one-party parliament, passed on final reading with 82 votes in favor and none against. They take effect once GD-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili signs them into law.
Tea Tsulukiani, a Georgian Dream MP and head of a parliamentary investigative commission, said she hopes Georgia will start the new year without the opposition United National Movement. Georgian Dream plans to ban the opposition, which it refers to as the “collective UNM,” shortly after the upcoming local elections scheduled for October. Georgian Dream intends to use the final report of the single-party parliament’s investigative commission, which is investigating alleged crimes committed by the UNM, to request a ban from the Constitutional Court.
The Ministry of Culture has dismissed Davit Doiashvili, director of the Vaso Abashidze Music and Drama Theater, citing the theater’s failure to fulfill its “founding objectives.” The decision comes as the theater and its troupe have played a prominent role in ongoing pro-European, anti-GD protests. Doiashvili’s dismissal has drawn immediate backlash from artists, cultural figures, and civil society, many of whom view Doiashvili’s dismissal as politically motivated.
GD-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili is continuing his first official visit to Azerbaijan, holding meetings with the country’s leadership, including President Ilham Aliyev. In statements made to the press, President Aliyev emphasized the strong ties between Azerbaijan and Georgia, highlighting the importance of enhancing trade and economic relations as well as the Middle Corridor project. In response, Kavelashvili stressed the “strategic and special good neighborliness” that exists between the two nations.
Beka Jaiani, convicted of murdering well-known Georgian transgender woman Kesaria Abramidze, has been sentenced to life in prison. The Tbilisi City Court found Jaiani, 26, guilty of all charges, including the aggravated murder of Abramidze on the grounds of gender identity and with extreme cruelty. He was also convicted of committing regular acts of violence based on gender identity.
The human rights watchdog Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) says the investigation into alleged police abuse of Mzia Amaghlobeli, the detained journalist and director of Batumelebi/Netgazeti, is “ineffective”. The GYLA has also expressed concern that Amaghlobeli has not been granted victim status despite repeated requests. Despite the Public Defender’s Office documenting 242 cases of alleged torture and ill-treatment of detainees during pro-EU protests, the SIS has granted victim status in only 85 instances.
The Constitutional Court of Georgia elected Revaz Nadaraia as its new chairman on April 16, appointing him to a five-year term. Nadaraia, 45, succeeds Merab Turava in the position. Nadaraia has previously served as Chair of the Poti City Court (2012-2016), and as a judge at the Tbilisi City Court (2016-2017) and Tbilisi Court of Appeal (2017-2021). He was also a member of the High Council of Justice from 2017 to 2020 and has served on the Prosecutorial Council since 2019.
The Interview of the Day
In an interview with Civil.ge, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said that due to the Georgian Dream’s decisions, the country’s EU accession process is put on hold. According to the Minister, “growing gap between the EU and Georgia is thus a political choice of the Georgian Dream leadership, and it will become harder to close it as time goes by.” Read the full interview here.