GEORGIA: The US MEGOBARI Act & more – 8th May 2025

Gamarjobat from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Georgia Update from the 8th of May twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Georgia.

On Monday, the 5th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the MEGOBARI Act, which aims to sanction Georgian officials, with strong bipartisan support.

Supporters of the bill say Georgia’s ruling party rigged elections, cracked down on protests, and is drifting closer to countries like Russia, China, and Iran. They argue that while the Georgian government pushes anti-American narratives, the people remain strongly pro-American and want fair elections and basic freedoms.

The next step will be presenting the bill to the Senate and, if approved, it will need to be signed off by President Trump.

On Wednesday, the 7th, a warning was given about a bomb threat in three large shopping malls in Tbilisi. Interestingly, it wasn’t the police or news stations that shared this information first, but the Facebook page of the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, which shared a post warning its staff to avoid these locations.

Georgia’s State Security Service later released a statement, saying that their units were investigating the case of the false alarm; none of the malls were evacuated. Instead, the Security service asked foreign embassies to respect local authorities’ responsibilities and avoid making public statements without coordinating with them first.

In other news, on Tuesday, the 6th, civil activist Nutsa Makharadze shared a video on Instagram saying a man attacked her and her friends with pepper spray and splashed green paint-like substance on her when they were entering an elevator at their apartment building. He also insulted and called them “Natsebi” (the United National Movement), since the supporters of the ruling party use it as a derogatory term against everyone involved in politics who is against the ruling party.

The victims say this was not the first instance of such abuse, as their friend group had been stalked for a month with someone slashing the tires of their car.

Paramedics couldn’t immediately identify what substance the attacker used, so they were taken to the hospital.

Wanna watch Nutsa’s video? Link in the show notes.

Also on Tuesday, there was a shooting right outside the home of former president Salome Zourabichvili in central Tbilisi, leaving two people injured. Police say that a fight broke out between a group of strangers near Gudiashvili Park, and someone pulled a gun. The two wounded were taken to the hospital and they're expected to recover.

Police say they’ve identified the shooter and are now taking steps to arrest him.

Zourabichvili posted about the accident, that around forty people were fighting, yelling, and eventually shooting started outside her window at 4:20 a.m.—with one bullet landing in her yard. She said this wasn’t just about her safety, but about how unsafe the city center has become.

She also pointed out that no police showed up until much later, only after the injured arrived at the hospital on their own.

Last week, we reported that Irakli Garibashvili retired from politics. Since he held the position of party chairman, the Georgian Dream or the Kotsebi, held a party congress on Wednesday, the 7th, to elect his replacement and approve the party’s new political council. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze was unanimously elected as chairman of the party. As for the political council, not much changed, except for the removal of Garibashvili and Tornike Rijvadze, who stepped down as head of the Adjara government last month.

Ioseb Gorgadze, an inmate of Gldani Prison who was transferred to a Hospital due to several serious injuries back in January, passed away on Tuesday, the 6th. Doctors said that Isoeb had been in a coma since admission and he died of a brain injury.

Ioseb was serving his time for accidentally crashing his car into pedestrians, which resulted in four deaths. All of them were going back home from a march organized in support of the Kotsebi.

The family of the deceased says that Ioseb has been brutally beaten in prison and demands to know who was responsible for the attack. Authorities say their investigation did not find any evidence of an attack and that Ioseb suffered a stroke and then fell from his bed while in prison, receiving additional injuries. However, the injuries, including a fractured skull and marks on Ioseb’s neck suggesting strangulation, make the family of the deceased put the cause of death into question..

On Wednesday, the 7th, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze said there are nearly 10,000 unsafe buildings in the city and urged their residents to take part in the government’s house replacement program.

His comments came after part of the floor collapsed in an old building on Dadiani Street last week. Thirty-four families were moved to a hotel, and the city offered them temporary housing. Kaladze said they had turned down the same offer last year. He also noted the city can’t move people out or start repairs without full agreement from residents, even in dangerous conditions.

On Thursday, the 1st, Mtavari Arkhi, once Georgia’s main opposition TV channel, stopped working. After nearly six years of broadcasting, the management said it simply ran out of ways to keep the channel afloat. Only its digital team—social media and website—will stay active.

The shutdown follows months of internal drama and financial trouble. Management blames Zaza Okuashvili, the co-founder, for cutting off funds and blocking key decisions, pushing the channel to collapse from the inside. Okruashvili supposedly followed orders from Ivanishvili, which he denies.

Mtavari launched in twenty nineteen when a court handed TV channel Rustavi 2 back to its old owners, causing the team behind it, led by now opposition leader Nika Gvaramia, to leave and create a new channel, which quickly became one of the loudest voices challenging the government.

In related news. On Friday, the 2nd, Reporters Without Borders published a new report, showing that this year Georgia fell eleven spots in the global press freedom ranking—from 103rd to 114th—compared to twenty twenty-four.

All key areas, like political pressure, legal limits, and media safety, got worse. The report says journalists face more attacks, both verbal and physical, especially from officials.

It also says that the media is still very polarized, that owners often push their own political agenda, and that state media acts more like a government mouthpiece. Overall, the media space keeps shrinking, and working as a journalist is getting riskier.

On the same day, Georgia’s security service announced they’ve arrested a foreign citizen affiliated with the terrorist organization ISIS in Rustavi, a city located thirty km (or eighteen miles) east of Tbilisi. He was wanted by Interpol and was flagged by another country.

Investigators say the arrested individual joined ISIS back in twenty fourteen after going to the Middle East. He has combat experience and deep knowledge of explosives, playing a key role in the group’s operations.

Last week, Greek authorities arrested a fifty-nine-year-old Georgian man for spying on behalf of Russia’s foreign military intelligence agency. He filmed military activity at Alexandroupolis port, which is a hub for U.S. military aid to Ukraine, and sent the footage to another Georgian contact in Lithuania using an encrypted app. That contact was also arrested.

Greek authorities have not released the name of the spy, but say that he used to serve in the Russian army. Apparently, he started spying for money, but later did it voluntarily. In his chat with his handler he wrote he acted for Mother Russia.

Finally, living costs in Georgia continue to rise. In April, annual inflation reached 3.4% compared to 2.3% in April last year, driven mainly by a sharp increase in food prices. Though this number seems moderate, the rising cost of essential products is being felt throughout the country.

Data from the National Statistics office shows that the groceries and non-alcoholic drinks are up 7% compared to last year. Some of the steepest hikes were seen in cooking oil - 18%, vegetables - 16%, tea and coffee - 15% and sugar and sweets - 11%

Healthcare also became more expensive, with higher prices for medical services, medications, and hospital care. Dining out, education, and personal care followed the same trend, adding to the financial pressure on households.

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

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Nakhvamdis!