GEORGIA: The Bishop Video & more – 3rd July 2025

Gamarjobat from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Georgia Update from the 23rd of July twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Georgia.

On Friday, the 27th, a court sentenced Nika Melia, leader of Coalition for Change or Tsvlilebebistvis, to eight months in prison and barred him from holding public office for two years because of his refusal to attend the Georgian Dream or the Kotsebi created parliament's temporary investigative committee, whose purpose is to investigate alleged political wrongdoings during the United National Movement or the Natsebi rule.

Also on Friday, Givi Targamadze, a former member of the Natsebi, was sentenced for the same charges. He will spend seven months in jail and he won’t be allowed to hold public office for two years.

And just a few days later, on Tuesday, the 1st, Nika Gvaramia, another leader and founder of Tsvlilebebistvis, got the same sentence as Melia, also on the same charges.

On Tuesday the 1st, Elene Koshtaria, the only leader of Tsvlilebebistvis who has not been arrested, started a hunger strike in front of the parliament building, saying that the ruling party is on the offensive and has imprisoned most of the political opposition. In response to the Kotsebi actions, she decided to resort to this kind of protest, as she is ready to sacrifice herself against this regime. She also said that this decision was taken rationally and not out of desperation. She believes that the only way to get rid of the regime is through revolution.

She is not the only one who went on a hunger strike. Gedevan Popkhadze, a former member of the Kotsebi, who moved to the opposition years ago, as well as three other activists, decided to join her.

On an update to a story from a previous show… A couple of weeks ago, we reported on a case where Bishop Giorgi Jamlediani said that an official from the Kotsebi had tried to poison him and was using a nun from his monastery to spy on him. Shortly after, it became public that the official in question was Gogi Shinjikashvili, who until recently served as deputy governor of Kvemo Kartli, a region in central Georgia.

On Saturday the 28th, TV channel Formula released a report on the case, which included a secretly recorded video of Jamlediani and Shinjikashvili meeting at the Bishop’s residence. In the video, Shinjikashvili denied the poisoning accusations. The nun was also present and accused him of pressuring her to spy on the Bishop.

During this conversation, the Bishop's gun was placed on the table between them. At one point, you can hear him loading it.

As the video went viral, people were shocked and disgusted —some by the clergy behaving like mafia, while others by the accusation of a Kotsebi official trying to poison a Bishop. Still, many were upset by both.

Check out the video with the link in the show notes!

Speaking of guns, on Thursday, the 26th, a policeman shot a person in the head in Ruispiri, in eastern Georgia. Authorities arrested him and said he was not on duty when the shooting happened, that he used his private handgun, and that he was drunk. The victim was taken to the hospital but doctors were not able to save him. The investigation is ongoing, but no further details are known as to what caused the conflict.

In International news, on Saturday the 26th, Oleksiy Honcharenko, Ukraine’s representative in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, said Georgia didn’t support the agreement to create a special tribunal to hold Russia accountable for its aggression. Out of forty-six member states, six didn’t back it, including Georgia. He said that the decision was ironic, since Russia occupies twenty percent of Georgia’s territory, similar to Ukraine.

The Council hasn’t published the full list of supporting countries yet, but Ukraine’s president and the Council’s Secretary General signed the agreement on Wednesday, the 25th. A day before, Hungary, Turkey, and Serbia voted against it, while Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan didn’t take part in the vote at all.

The Georgian opposition says this shows how closely the government aligns with Russia.

While the ruling party aligns itself with Russia, things are the opposite with the European Union, where they cannot even travel to certain countries without getting a visa. On Monday, the 30th, Prime Minister Kobakhidze admitted that he recently visited a European country (without specifying which one) which required him to get a visa.

While Georgians enjoy visa-free travel with the European Union, the organization suspended that privilege for officials and diplomatic passport holders back in January in response to the crackdown on pro-European protests, which we have talked about in previous shows. So far, ten EU countries have started to enforce these sanctions, including France and Sweden.

Kobakhidze said that the decision was shameful, but he had no choice but to follow the rules.

Also on Monday, the 30th, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze announced that metro station Varketili will be closed for forty-five days, starting the 14th of July. Workers will repair damaged concrete, seal leaks, and fix the escalator tunnel. He said they can’t do the job safely while passengers use the station. He expects the full renovation to finish by November or December.

This is not the first attempt at renovating the station. In twenty eighteen, the ceiling collapsed just months after a previous renovation, injuring fourteen people. Authorities blamed the accident on low-quality work. This time, the city promises stronger oversight and full safety, but the public is skeptical about this.

Meanwhile, the ruling party introduced a bill that increases penalties for crimes related to marijuana, whose use has been decriminalized for the past couple of years. It seems the Kotsebi wants to reverse this process.

Possessing more than five grams of dried marijuana could now lead to up to six years in prison. Larger amounts could result in sentences up to eight years, and illegal production or transport could mean up to nine years.

First-time possession of small amounts, less than five grams, will still be treated as an administrative offense, but repeat offenses could lead to jail time. Growing cannabis, even in small amounts, could result in fines, house arrest, or prison.

Next up, on Monday the 30th, opposition leader Salome Samadashvili from the Coalition Strong Georgia or Dzlieri - Lelo, said Georgia is losing its role as the EU’s main ally in the region to Armenia.

She pointed to the visit of Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign policy chief, to Yerevan, where Armenia and the EU signed a deal allowing Armenia to join EU crisis missions. The EU also pledged 270 million euros to support Armenia’s sustainability and economic growth.

Kallas praised Armenia’s democratic progress and its efforts to reach peace with Azerbaijan.

Samadashvili said the EU is rewarding Armenia for its reforms, while Georgia slides toward Russian-style authoritarianism under oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili. She warned that Georgia risks losing visa-free travel and falling behind on EU membership, as the EU shifts its focus to a more democratic and reliable partner.

On another note, ruling party MP Irakli Zarkua said he may push for the expulsion of German Ambassador Peter Fischer, accusing him of acting like a political activist and siding with the opposition. Zarkua said Fischer has crossed diplomatic lines and is damaging relations between Georgia and Germany by fueling internal tensions instead of promoting cooperation. He suggested that ambassadors who harm the state should be removed.

A Georgian woman was arrested in Greece for allegedly starting a massive forest fire on the island of Chios by throwing away a cigarette butt.

The fire began on the 22nd of June and burned for three days, destroying around 4,000 hectares of forest.

The investigation is still ongoing, but authorities arrested her after witnesses came forward with accusations.

Closing this edition with sports news, on Sunday, the 29th, during the Ultimate Fighting Championship, held in Las Vegas, Ilia Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira in the first round and won the lightweight champion title, becoming a two-division champion. He won the featherweight belt earlier this year, but gave it up to move to the next weight division. He now holds a perfect seventeen wins, zero losses record.

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

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Nakhvamdis!