GEORGIA: Tensions in front of Kaladze’s Office & more – 18th Sep 2025

Gamarjobat from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Georgia Update from the 18th of September twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Georgia.

Last week we reported that Tbilisi Mayor Kakhi Kaladze’s new re-election campaign office had become a hotspot for clashes between pro-European activists and supporters of the Georgian Dream or the Kotsebi.

On Thursday, the 11th, police arrested three people involved in a scuffle in front of that office. Two of them were supporters of the Kotsebi who physically assaulted activists. One of them even shouted at the police, “I am one of yours,” as officers tried to detain him.

Authorities also arrested twenty-three-year-old activist Megi Diasamidze, who had written Russian Dream on one of Kaladze’s campaign banners. She was charged with damaging property, a criminal offense punishable by a fine, house arrest for six months to two years, or prison from one to five years. She was later released on bail. Diasamidze said she spent nine hours with her hands tied behind her back. Two supporters from the ruling party were released without any charges.

In related news, Elene Koshtaria, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change or Tsvlilebebistvis, which won the largest share of opposition votes in last year’s parliamentary elections, was arrested on Monday, the 15th.

After learning about the arrest of Megi Diasamidze, Koshtaria went to Kaladze’s campaign office and wrote Russian Dream on three of his banners, which led to her arrest on the same charges.

She is currently in jail and says that she does not plan to cooperate with the authorities in any way, including defending herself in court or attending hearings. If she is sentenced to prison, all four leaders of Tsvlilebebistvis will be behind bars. Gvaramia, Melia, and Japaridze are already imprisoned for refusing to comply with a parliamentary investigative committee summons.

Koshtaria was not the only opposition leader arrested this week. On Thursday, the 11th, the State Security Service detained Levan Kabeishvili, an opposition leader closely linked to the United National Movement or the Natsebi. He also runs a popular YouTube channel where he investigates and reports on alleged crimes, including corruption by the Kotsebi government. Kabeishvili had been actively involved in planning demonstrations for the 4th of October.

On his channel and in television appearances, Kabeishvili repeatedly stated that he would pay 200,000 dollars to any police officer or security service member who would refuse to use force against protesters and leak videos of alleged torture and abuse within their agencies. Authorities cited these statements to charge him with attempted bribery.

There was another arrest this week, but this time it was one of the Kotsebi. On Thursday, the 11th, the police arrested Juansher Burchuladze, who until last year served as Minister of Defence, for abuse of power and money laundering.

According to investigators, ministry officials under his direction manipulated a tender for an MRI scanner, inflating its price, which caused more than 1.4 million Lari (around 400,000 dollars) in damages to the Defense Ministry.

Authorities also allege that in January twenty twenty-five, Burchuladze’s family bought property in Spain for 544,000 Euros using illicit funds. To hide the origin of the money, Burchuladze allegedly arranged a fake property sale in Georgia, used fictitious loan contracts, and did not include Spanish property in the declaration. He faces nine to twelve years in prison if convicted.

Protests are becoming increasingly dangerous for pro-European activists. On Monday, the 15th, one of the groups that has been organizing daily marches for months was attacked by a group of people.

Levan Jobava, one of the activists, said that an unknown group of men began insulting them during the march. He and a friend approached one of the men to ask why, but the man ran into a nearby café. When Jobava and his friend confronted him there, he pulled out a gun. The activists managed to disarm him and handed both the man and the weapon over to the police.

Authorities later said the gun was a pneumatic weapon, which is still illegal to own in Georgia. The suspect may face up to seven years in prison.

Next up, the Coalition Strong Georgia, or Dzlieri - Lelo and Gakharia’s For Georgia or Sakartvelostvis will not compete against each other in the municipal elections. Instead, they chose to have shared candidates in cities and municipalities, where they think the opposition has the best chances. They will have candidates in:

Tbilisi, Sighnaghi, Lagodekhi, Marneuli, Bolnisi, Kazbegi, Gori, Borjomi, Kharagauli, Samtredia, Khoni, Chokhatauri, Khobi, Zugdidi, Keda, Kobuleti, Shuakhevi, Khelvachauri, Telavi, Akhmeta, Rustavi, Mtskheta, Dusheti, Kaspi, Terjola, Zestafoni, Chiatura, Tskaltubo, Kutaisi, Ozurgeti, Lanchkhuti, Senaki, Tsalenjikha, Chkhorotsku, Batumi and Khulo.

In other news, two Ukrainian citizens were arrested in Georgia after authorities discovered explosives hidden in a truck at the border crossing.

On Sunday, the 10th, a Mercedes-Benz truck with Ukrainian plates entered Georgia through Turkey. Investigators say an unknown person in Ukraine gave the truck driver the explosives, 2.4 kilograms (five pounds) of hexogen, which is a powerful explosive substance, and explained that after crossing the Georgian border, another contact would collect them. The second Ukrainian was caught receiving the explosives from the driver in Georgia.

Searches also uncovered eight phones, computers, SIM cards, cash, and cocaine. Authorities are trying to find out the final destination and the purpose of these explosives

Meanwhile, on Monday, the 15th, Georgian authorities arrested a person named Kahka Kotorashvili in what they describe as an unprecedented money laundering case. Prosecutors say he laundered over 600 million dollars between twenty twenty-two and twenty twenty-four through a licensed currency exchange, pushing the funds into circulation with real estate deals and transfers through others. Investigators say money entered Georgia from Azerbaijan.

Details of the case are not known yet. However, the amount of money involved got everyone talking about it.

On Thursday, the 11th, thirty-seven member states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, including Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, and Canada, issued a joint statement on recent events in Georgia and the worsening state of human rights. They criticized the government for failing to invite ODIHR in time to observe municipal elections, warning that this undermines transparency and trust. The statement pointed to political repression by the Kotsebi, including arrests of opposition leaders, pressure on activists, and harsh sentences for protesters and journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli.

Changing gears. On Tuesday, the 13th, Kaladze posted an Instagram story of his meeting with Chechen MMA star Khamzat Chimaev. While Chimaev is widely known, he is also a close friend of Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic and one of Putin’s top allies. That didn’t stop Kaladze from seizing the photo op and calling Chimaev his brother.

On Tuesday, the 16th, representatives of Georgia’s civil and academic society published a petition to thank Germany and show solidarity with Ambassador Peter Fischer. They argue that threats against him made by the Kotsebi, including talk of expulsion, target not just the ambassador but the long-standing friendship between Georgia and Germany.

The petition talks about Germany’s decades of political, economic, and social support, from infrastructure and education projects to scholarships, media development, and clear backing for Georgia’s EU path.

The authors call Fischer a symbol of this partnership and urge the government to stop attacking foreign diplomats and respect diplomatic protocol.

Wrapping up this episode, on Monday, the 15th, Simon Leviev, the main figure of Netflix’s twenty twenty-two documentary Tinder Swindler and a well-known con artist, was arrested at Batumi’s airport, in western Georgia.

Leviev, a thirty-five-year-old Israeli fraudster, rose to international fame after the release of the Netflix film, which revealed how he used Tinder to contact women, present himself as the heir of diamond magnate Lev Leviev, and persuade them to lend him large sums of money under false pretenses. He spent years carrying out these scams across Europe, funding a lavish lifestyle while leaving victims in debt.

He was wanted by Interpol, which led to his arrest in Georgia.

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

Don’t forget that we do many other updates. We’ve got country and non-country updates, including the Arctic, Ocean, and Multilateral shows.

Check the full list with the link in the show notes.

Nakhvamdis!