GEORGIA: The Opposition’s Potential Boycott & more – 27th Mar 2025

Gamarjobat from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Georgia Update from the 27th of March twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Georgia.

Kicking off this edition, the US Department of Justice published a press release on Friday, the 21st, saying that a Georgian citizen, Polad Omarov, was found guilty of plotting the murder of the Iranian dissident journalist Masih Alinejad. U.S. authorities say Iran’s government hired Omarov and an Iranian national, Rafat Amirov, to kill Alinejad for 500,000 dollars.

Omarov worked with Eastern European criminal groups and received direct orders from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. His team tracked Alinejad and supplied weapons, including an AK-47. In twenty twenty-two, U.S. police arrested their hitman, Khalid Mehdiyev, before he was able to carry out the attack.

A jury convicted Omarov and Amirov on multiple charges, including murder-for-hire and racketeering. They can be sentenced to life in prison.

In other International news, On Friday, the 21st, Berlin's administrative court raised doubts about Germany’s classification of Georgia as a safe country. In late twenty twenty-three, Germany made it easier to reject asylum applications from Georgian citizens because people did not face any real danger in their country, so there would be no reason to seek asylum. However, a recent court ruling challenged that decision.

The court made the statement after considering a case of a Georgian couple who appealed the decision denying them asylum. The husband, a former public-sector veterinarian, said he lost his job for protesting against Russian Law. His wife said she faced pressure at work for participating in demonstrations. The court ruled in their favor, allowing them to stay in Germany while their case is reviewed.

In a somewhat related note, Regina Egorova-Askerova, a Lithuanian human rights activist and former journalist who has lived in Georgia for fifteen years, says authorities denied her entry into the country without explanation.

She currently leads the South Caucasus office of the Swedish women’s rights organization Kvinna till Kvinna. Friends and journalists said that she is married to a Georgian citizen and holds a Georgian residence permit.

On Thursday, the 20th, she posted on Facebook that she was turned away at the border with officials citing other reasons clause of the law, which usually means political motivations.

The European Court of Human Rights has registered a case filed by the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association regarding election secrecy violations during last year’s parliamentary elections in Georgia. The organization says that widespread secrecy violations occurred at electronic polling stations, because the mark made by the voter on the ballot was seen from its backside. After exhausting all legal options domestically, they turned to the international court. A total of seventy-four complaints were filed in Georgian districts, but local courts dismissed all of them.

Speaking of elections, Shalva Papuashvili, the chairperson of the parliament, criticized opposition parties' plans to boycott the municipal elections in October, calling them anti-democratic and extremist. Municipal elections are the second most important in the country after the parliamentary elections.

Opposition parties that won mandates in the last parliamentary elections have refused to recognize the results, calling them fraudulent and denying legitimacy to the ruling party, the Georgian Dream or the Kotsebi. As a result, some opposition representatives have already spoken against participating in the municipal elections unless their demand for new parliamentary elections is met.

According to a new UN Women study on gender equality in Georgia, with over 1,200 participants over sixteen, despite some positive changes, deep-rooted stereotypes remain strong.

95% of Georgians hold at least one stereotype about women’s employment. Many believe a paid job helps women be independent, but nearly half think men should have job priority when work is scarce. Over half say men should have final say in family matters, and 71% think women should focus more on caregiving.

63% of the population sees more women in politics as beneficial, but many think it’s hard for women to get elected. Family responsibilities and traditional gender roles remain the biggest barriers.

While 91% reject domestic violence, fewer - 78% - believe their community shares this view. Generally, men are seen as having more control over their lives, especially in marriage and decision-making.

Next up, the Georgian government has allocated 2.5 million Lari, which is 900,000 dollars, from its reserve fund to support the recovery in Guria, in western Georgia, after a recent severe snowstorm devastated the region.

Recall that in February, we reported that heavy snowfall in Guria left many residents cut off, with roads blocked and electricity and gas supplies disrupted. Some homes collapsed. Volunteers from Tbilisi and other regions brought food and medicine. Authorities mobilized emergency services, rescue equipment, and defense forces to assist affected communities.

Talking about funds, the government decided to allocate 43 million lari, which is over 15 million dollars, from the Ministry of Education’s budget to support fifty-three educational institutions across the country founded by the Georgian Orthodox Church.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze also issued a decree transferring land and buildings in Tskneti, a historic city near Tbilisi, to the Church. The property, covering 2,000 square meters of non-agricultural land, was transferred for just one Lari, which is thirty-five US cents.

According to TV channel Pirveli, a Georgian court has granted victim status to Khareba , the head of the special tasks department responsible for the brutal crackdown, beatings, and torture of pro-European protesters. Khareba, who was sanctioned by the U.S. and some European countries, tried to justify the police’s repression, saying that some of his unit’s equipment was damaged or went missing during the protests. He also alleges that protesters broke the windshield of a water cannon vehicle.

The court also recognized the Police Department, Tbilisi City Hall, and a Hugo Boss store damaged during the protests as victims.

Despite well-documented evidence of 400 demonstrators and journalists being beaten and tortured, no police officers have faced charges so far.

On that note about the demonstrations, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association said that fines for blocking roads during protests have reached 2 million laris, which is over 700,000 dollars in the past five months. The organization says these penalties, introduced amid ongoing political repression, severely violate the right to assembly and free expression.

The Kotsebi amended the Administrative Offenses Code in November, soon after the protests started, increasing the fine for spontaneous roadblocks tenfold—from 500 to 5,000 lari, which is from 180 to 1,800 dollars. Police enforce these fines using facial recognition cameras, which often serve as the sole evidence in court.

In sports, on Sunday, the 23rd, Georgia defeated Armenia 6-1 in a football match at Tbilisi’s Dinamo Arena, but the victory was overshadowed by an incident after the game, when a group of Georgian fans threw bottles and insulted Armenian supporters.

Levan Kobiashvili, the President of the Georgian Football Federation, criticized the fans' behavior, calling it unacceptable and warning that UEFA might impose sanctions.

Kobiashvili expressed appreciation for Armenia’s football federation and highlighted the strong sports ties between the two countries, including their joint bid to host the twenty twenty-nine U-20 FIFA World Cup. He emphasized that football should unite people, not create conflicts.

Closing with cultural news. Tbilisi Open Air, the biggest independent music festival in the South Caucasus, will take place on the 24th and 25th of May. This year, the festival will fully focus on Georgian artists and reflect the ongoing political unrest in the country. Organizers aim to celebrate freedom, equality, and solidarity while uniting artists who uphold these values.

The festival will feature not just music but also performances from the Georgian theater, the national ballet, local music labels, a natural wine festival, and the Tbilisi Book Fair. A portion of ticket sales will support contemporary art and cultural organizations, with attendees given the option to donate as well. Tbilisi Open Air twenty twenty-five positions itself as a cultural movement supporting artists in need.

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

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Nakhvamdis!