GEORGIA: Murder on Chavchavadze Street & more – 20th Mar 2025

Gamarjobat from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Georgia Update from the 20th of March twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Georgia.

On the night of Saturday, the 15th, one person was murdered and another one injured on Chavchavadze Street, Tbilisi’s wealthiest and most affluent area, where politicians often choose to live. Witnesses reported hearing about ten gunshots, with bullets also hitting a local café's window.

Levan Jangveladze, the victim, was a businessman who had recently arrived in Georgia from Russia and was accompanied by a bodyguard. Levan’s brother Merab is a thief-in-law, and he himself was well connected in the criminal underworld.

Surveillance footage suggests the murder was premeditated, showing the suspect waiting for Jangveladze to leave a building before quickly approaching and shooting him. Within a day, the police arrested a suspect, who is a former member of special forces. So far, he exercised the right to remain silent.

Next Up. On Monday, the 17th, authorities froze the bank accounts of five organizations, including the Nanuka Foundation, the House of Human Rights, and Prosperity Georgia. These funds were helping families of people arrested or fined during protests. The

The Prosecutor’s Office says this is part of an investigation into sabotage and funding of violent protests by supplying items like gas masks, helmets, and other gear to demonstrators. They say that the groups encouraged disobedience and helped cover fines and other costs for protesters.

Nanuka Zhghorzhiani, the head of one of the frozen foundations, says they had to stop helping people in urgent need due to the freeze.

On Saturday, the 15th, Gela Mtivlishvili, the editor of the online news portal MTIS AMBEBI, wrote on his Facebook page that an armed officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs assaulted him. He said that the incident took place outside the city, on the highway, when a white pickup truck with a governmental license plate started following him and forced him to stop.

Once outside the cars, the officer started swearing and threatening him, trying to seize his phone when Mtivlishvili started to film the incident. In the video, the officer mentions Khareba, cursing at everyone Khareba dislikes. Khareba is the head of the Special Tasks Department, known for brutally beating pro-European demonstrators. The US and some European countries have sanctioned him but seemingly he has cult-like loyalty from his employees.

The video showing part of the accident was posted on Facebook by MTIS AMBEBI. Check it out with the link in the show notes.

On another note, on Friday,the 14th, Robin Dunnigan, the U.S. Ambassador to Georgia, met with Maka Bochorishvili, Georgia's Minister of Foreign Affairs. This was their first meeting since Georgia's parliamentary elections last year, as well as Donald Trump’s election as president.

Afterward, both parties shared statements on social media. The Georgian side emphasized the need for a positive new dynamic in bilateral relations, expressing readiness from the ruling party. The U.S. Embassy wrote that Ambassador Dunnigan briefed Bochorishvili about the priorities of President Trump and Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, outlining necessary steps to demonstrate Georgia's commitment to improving ties with the U.S.

Some opposition members criticized the meeting, saying that the ruling party lacks legitimacy and the ambassador should not have engaged with what they consider an illegitimate foreign minister.

Last week, we reported that former President Misha Saakashvili was found guilty of embezzling government funds and sentenced to nine years in prison. We also mentioned another pending case against him for illegally crossing the border and entering Georgia in twenty twenty-one, which led to his arrest. This week, the court found him guilty of that charge as well.

As it stands, if no other charges are brought against him, the third president of Georgia will spend the next twelve years of his life in prison.

The news was positively received in Russia, with Leonid Skudski, the Chairman of Duma’s Foreign Relations Committee, stating that Saakashvili got what he deserved for betraying the interests of the Georgian people in favor of Western interests.

Switching gears, the twenty twenty-four Democracy Report by the V-Dem Institute labeled Georgia as a new electoral autocracy along with countries like Serbia, Hungary and Russia. The report notes a significant decline in democracy, especially in twenty twenty-four, marking the sharpest downturn since the country gained independence. It also says that while the decline started relatively slowly in twenty eighteen, it escalated massively last year, after alleged fraudulent elections and brutal crackdowns on pro-European protests.

On Tuesday, the 18th, the Clooney Foundation for Justice, led by human rights lawyer Amal Clooney and her husband George Clooney, announced that it would be monitoring the trial of Mzia Amaglobeli, the founder of online news media Batumelebi and Netgazeti. The foundation shared a statement on Twitter saying that Mzia has been denied bail three times, without proper explanation.

Recall that Amaglobeli was detained during the protests in front of the police department, when she put a protest sticker on the building (which is an administrative offense). She was soon released, but in a scuffle in front of the building, she slapped the police chief.

Mzia is charged with an assault on a police officer as there is video evidence of her slapping him in the face. However, she says that it was in response to being treated inhumanely by him in a police building, where he allegedly threatened her and spat in her face. If found guilty, she will face four to seven years in prison.

In the news from abroad. On Tuesday, the 18th, Kazakhstan authorities detained Levan Varshalomidze, the former head of Adjara’s government and a member of the United National Movement or Natsebi, at the airport’s passport control. Representatives of Natsebi say that his arrest is linked to a criminal case filed by Russia, connected to his political consulting work with Ukraine’s government.

They are worried about the risk of extradition to Russia and are working with officials in Ukraine and Kazakhstan to prevent it. Varshalomidze was released from jail on the following day. However, the legal proceedings are ongoing, and he remains in Kazakhstan.

In an update to a story from last week… In our previous show, we reported an accident in Tbilisi, where a car fell from Metekhi Bridge into the river—the second incident of this kind in just one week. The story took an odd turn this week when, on Sunday, the 16th, a third car fell from the same bridge. Rescue services and bystanders on the scene saved the driver.

What makes this even stranger is that no similar accidents had occurred on this bridge for years. Now, with three incidents in a row, locals are calling it an anomaly. Urban planning activists and experts criticized Tbilisi’s municipality for failing to implement additional safety measures, such as lowering the speed limit, after the first accident.

Parliament plans to add mandatory treatment to sentences for drug-related crimes. Judges will be given the power to assign treatment in addition to or instead of prison, depending on medical or expert advice. The decision would be made case by case, focusing on offenders who need medical help.

This is part of a new campaign by Georgian Dream or the Kotsebi aimed at toughening punishments for drug-related crimes. The government says this step aims to improve public health and reduce repeat offenses.

In business news, the EU’s twenty twenty-four report on Georgia’s business climate highlights challenges despite a growing economy. Businesses face political instability, a shortage of skilled workers, and trade barriers. The skills gap alone costs Georgia around 26% of its GDP annually. Companies also struggle with currency instability, corruption, and weak regulations.

Exports to the EU fell by 18% in twenty twenty-three due to high costs for meeting EU standards, lack of accredited labs, and limited regulatory knowledge. Small and medium-sized enterprises face difficulties accessing EU markets.

The report calls for faster education and legal reforms and better cooperation between schools and businesses to align training with market needs.

Closing with cultural news, Demna Gvasalia, the most famous Georgian fashion designer, became the creative director of Gucci. He will be stepping down from his position as the creative director of Balenciaga, a position he has held since twenty fifteen.

Demna said he was excited about joining the Gucci team, emphasizing his admiration for the brand and his eagerness to contribute to its legacy.

Stefano Cantini, Gucci’s CEO, complimented Demna's unique approach to fashion, saying that he is one of the top creative directors of his generation.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

Did you know that you can send an episode as an MP3 file? You can download it directly from our website: www.rorshok.com/georgia. The link’s also in the show notes.

Nakhvamdis!