Tag Archives: Interior Ministry

Equality Movement, a local LGBT rights organization, said that its activists can no longer come to their office for fear of their neighbors. Levan Berianidze, executive director of Equality Movement told Civil.ge on Wednesday that they have moved to Egnate Ninoshvili Street in Tbilisi in February 2018, where some members …

The ruling majority is developing amendments to the Parliament’s regulations envisaging the relocation of the Parliament building from Kutaisi, Georgia’s second largest city, back to Tbilisi in January 2019. The Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia cited excess budgetary funds spent on the maintenance of two buildings as well as complicated …

Responding to Civil.ge query, the Georgian Interior Ministry has confirmed that the government is considering licensing of cultivation and production of medical cannabis for export, stressing that “the sale of marijuana inside the country will remain a criminal offense.” The Ministry also said that it drafted legislative amendments that “puts …

On September 10, Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia visited Ukraine and met with Ukrainian counterpart, Arsen Avakov. The two ministers discussed their countries’ police cooperation, including in countering organized crime. At the meeting, Gakharia and Avakov agreed to establish a joint working group to improve cooperation between their criminal departments and to …

Police have arrested Giorgi Chelidze, the leader of Georgian National Unity, a Tbilisi-based group that positions itself as a “fascist” and “right wing national-socialist” organization, on charges related to illegal possession of firearms. In a statement released on August 31, the Georgian Interior Ministry said that investigation was launched based …

Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia appointed two new regional police chiefs on August 16. Konstantine Ananiashvili was appointed as the police chief in south-western Adjara region, replacing Lasha Gogniashvili, who served on the post since January 2016. Previously, Ananiashvili led the regional police department in Shida Kartli region of eastern Georgia. …

129 organized crime suspects living in Spain and France, including two Georgian citizens, were arrested by the Spanish police in cooperation with Interpol, Europol and the French and Georgian Police. Mamuka Chelidze of the Georgian Interior Ministry said at a news briefing today that the majority of detainees were of Armenian …

Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia, who was on a working visit to France on July 4, met with his French counterpart, Gérard Collomb, and discussed the two countries’ police cooperation, including in countering illegal migration and organized crime. In a statement released yesterday, the French Interior Ministry said the sides reaffirmed their …

The Parliamentary Commission leading the probe into investigation of the Khorava street teen murder, requested that the Prosecutor’s Office launches the criminal persecution against Mikheil Kalandia, one of the main case witnesses, for his participation in the murder of Davit Saralidze in the incident last December. According to the Commission, the …

Two persons have been arrested in connection with the controversial Khorava street incident last December, which left two 16 year-olds – Davit Saralidze and Levan Dadunashvili – stabbed to death. Mirza Subeliani and Merab Morchadze were arrested on charges of failure to report crime and exertion of influence on a …

A group of fifty civil society organizations united in the Georgian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum expressed “extreme concern” over the developments around the teen murder case, and called on the Interior Ministry to finalize the investigation in due time and bring the perpetrators to justice. …

Interior Ministry released a brief statement around an hour ago, offering special protection measures to Zaza Saralidze, father of the teenager murdered in December 2017, who protests what he claims is the prosecution-led cover-up. The Ministry said, citing “existing operative information,” that “certain politically-motivated forces” were planning “provocations” against Zaza …

The Head of the Central Criminal Police Department of the Interior Ministry, Vladimer Bortsvadze, said the Ministry had reopened the probe into the teen murder case to establish “additional circumstances that have emerged during court proceedings.” Speaking at a special press briefing today, a day after Tbilisi City Court delivered …

Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia paid a two-day working visit to Germany on May 29-30, where he met with German Federal Interior Minister Host Seehofer, and discussed the two countries’ police cooperation, including in countering illegal migration. According to the Georgian Interior Ministry, Gakharia informed the German official of the steps the …

On May 18, Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia reported to the Parliament at the request of the European Georgia minority group, focusing on May 13 drug raids on Tbilisi’s top music clubs, as well as on reforms planned in the Ministry. In his 40-minute statement Minister Gakharia stressed the necessity of …

Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia and leaders of the White Noise movement agreed at their meeting earlier today to set up two working groups – one on the drug policy reform and another on scrutinizing the May 12 raid on Tbilisi’s top music clubs. Davit Subeliani, one of the leaders of …

Police officers raided two leading Tbilisi-based clubs Bassiani and Cafe Gallery, allegedly following the leads regarding the dealing and use of club drugs. The police entered the night clubs at around 1 am today, with video footage from the scene showing armed officers moving into the premises to conduct drug …

A wave of drug-related deaths over the past two weeks has reignited the nearly year-long debate on Georgia’s drug policy reform, pitting conservative politicians with activists advocating more liberal drug policy. So far, the government dithers, but is leaning towards the hard line. In recent weeks, at least five young …