Attachments
In this Regional Overview covering January 2025
- Georgia: A crackdown on the opposition and journalists continues
- Greece: Demonstrations erupt over leaked phone calls from the 2023 Tempe rail crash
- Russia: Ukraine intensifies strikes on Russian energy infrastructure
- Serbia: Prime Minister Miloš Vučević resigns amid anti-corruption protests
- Ukraine: Russian forces advance on several fronts in the Donetsk region
Excerpt
Georgia: A crackdown on the opposition and journalists continues
January was marked by the high-profile targeting of opposition leaders and journalists in Georgia amid continued demonstrations against the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party’s suspension of EU talks in November. On 14 January, Georgian Dream members and at least one sitting member of parliament from the party beat up a journalist and the leader of the For Georgia opposition party, Giorgi Gakharia, in Batumi. Four days later, on 18 January, individuals suspected to be affiliated with the Georgian Dream party assaulted two members of the Lelo for Georgia party in Tbilisi.
Earlier in the month, on 12 January, police arrested prominent journalist Mzia Amaglobeli during a protest, along with the leader of the opposition Droa party, Helene Khoshtaria. Amaglobeli’s lawyers claim she faced police brutality while in custody.1 The journalist started a hunger strike to denounce her arrest and this alleged police brutality. ACLED records 20 protest events demanding her release in January amid calls for popular mobilization. In anticipation of renewed protests, the Georgian government issued a decree that made the blocking of highways a crime on 31 January.2 Although events of violence targeting civilians decreased from December to January, the high-profile nature of the attacks serves as an indication of the deteriorating political climate in the country. Overall, 2024 saw the highest number of civilian targeting events in Georgia since 2020.