What's happening in Georgia?

On 6 August 2025, Mzia Amaglobeli, a journalist and the co-founder of the independent news platforms Netgazeti and Batumelebi, was sentenced to two years in prison. The provocation, arrest, and ill-treatment of a respected journalist brought fresh international attention to Georgian Dream’s attempts to silence independent media. The absurd show trial that followed was supposed to intimidate a...

In 2022, the campaign to villify civil society intensified. The Georgian Dream fake news machine went into overdrive. False claims about NGO finance and the personal wealth and beliefs of senior leaders appeared on an almost daily basis. Posters appeared identifying those running some of the country's most high-profile NGOs, and questioning their commitment to Georgia. These very public attacks we...

'A strange kind of love' charts Georgian Dreams journey from the 2016 parliamentary 'landslide' that masked deep voter dissatisfaction; to apparent progress on European integration that feels now like a calculated attempt at treading water; through growing police brutality, vote buying, and finally the mask is off. In 2016, the Georgian Dream increased its parliamentary majority, but opinion polls...

When a regime persistently violates a range of human rights, what should journalists do? If they report the facts, should they be targeted, threatened and physically abused? Mzia Amaglobeli, co-founder of the independent news platforms Batumelebi and Netgazeti, is currently on trial in Georgia. In January, she was arrested twice in in one night, by the same officer. Her first arrest was for distri...

Who is Bidzina Ivanishvili? What are his politics? And how did he rise to power? The billionaire founder of Georgian Dream made his money in Russia in the 1990s, and retains business interests and political contacts in the Russian Federation. In this episode, we chart Ivanishvili's 'long game', from his funding of the UNM, to his strategic philanthropy, his recognition of the desire for multi-part...

On 28 November last year, the man many Georgian's refer to as their 'so-called Prime Minister', Irakli Kobakhidze, announced that the ruling party, Georgian Dream, was pausing the country's participation in the EU membership process until 2028. Supporters of Georgian democracy poured onto the streets, where they were met over the next two weeks with a violent response from state security. Georgian...