Large Saturday marches continue in Tbilisi as non-stop daily protests enter day 395. Students joined with a separate march. 🎥 Nini Gabritchidze/Civil.ge

Court in Russia-occupied Donetsk sentenced Nino Kakhniashvili, 28, to 15 years in a penal colony in absentia, accusing her of fighting for Ukraine as a “mercenary.” Kakhniashvili has dismissed charges, saying her role was limited to medical assistance.

Georgia received USD 298.39 million in foreign money transfers in November, an 11.9% increase year-over-year, according to Georgia's central bank. U.S and EU were again largest sources, with a combined share of 64.8% worth USD 193.63 million.

Georgian State Security Service said it arrested Bacho Akhalaia, ex-UNM interior and defense minister, on allegations of leading October 4 events, with agency citing records of “phone internet communications” with other alleged organizers as evidence.

The Public Defender of Georgia, Levan Ioseliani, said his office plans to challenge the amendments adopted by the ruling Georgian Dream party throughout 2025 to crack down on protests in the Constitutional Court, citing, among others, proportionality concerns.

Georgian officials marked completion of railway modernization project, hailing it as one of largest investments in Georgia’s transport sector and projecting higher cargo capacity, shorter transit times, and reduced travel time between Tbilisi and Batumi.

The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) said the country’s international reserves exceeded USD 5.8 billion after increasing by USD 308.2 million through foreign currency purchases in November.

A court in occupied Tskhinvali/South Ossetia has ordered two months of pretrial detention for Tamar Mearakishvili, a Georgian citizen and civic activist charged with espionage. She faces 10 to 20 years in jail.

U.S. will provide USD 10.4 million in communications equipment and other related goods as a grant to Georgia’s Ministry of Defense, according to a decree signed by GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on December 22.

Several protesters reported administrative proceedings for “obstructing movement of people” during a sidewalk rally in Tbilisi, in what appears to be the first direct enforcement of stricter laws that extend protest restrictions to pedestrian areas.

GD PM Irakli Kobakhidze called on law enforcement bodies and parliament to probe what he described as excessively high grocery prices, suggesting price hikes may be due to possible cartel-like coordination, and warning anti-monopoly measures.

A new journalistic investigation by iFact suggests Russian oil products may be reaching Netherlands, Switzerland, and Greece through Georgia, with the trade handled by companies with ties to ruling Georgian Dream party and Russian business circles.

The 129th meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) was held on December 22 in the village of Ergneti, near the occupation line with Georgia’s Russia-occupied Tskhinvali region. Read key highlights:

Former head of Georgia’s State Security Service Grigol Liluashvili has been arrested on bribery charges involving multiple alleged schemes, including those related to Georgia’s infamous scam call centers. He faces 11 to 15 years in prison.

De facto authorities in Russia-occupied Tskhinvali have arrested Tamar Mearakishvili, an Akhalgori-based Georgian civic activist and a Georgian citizen, accusing her of “espionage.”

Court ordered opposition politician Zurab Japaridze to pay GEL 30,000 (USD 11,000) in bail in the “sabotage” case, days after his release from prison where he served 7-month sentence on separate charges of defying GD parliamentary commission.

The board of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), Georgia’s leading human rights group, elected Tamar Oniani as its new chairperson on December 22, replacing Nona Kurdovanidze after her tenure expired. civil.ge/archives/715...

Georgian officials defended “sovereign” and “pragmatic” foreign policy and railed against “external interference” as the annual Ambassadors’ Conference kicked off, bringing together Georgian diplomats and coming amid the country’s continued isolation from its traditional Western partners.

A group of Georgian CSOs said they appealed to key international watchdogs to review "serious human rights violations," including “use of chemical and experimental crowd-control agents” during November-December 2024 demonstrations in Tbilisi.

EU plans to create first bloc-wide list of “safe countries of origin,” a move that could also apply to candidate countries like Georgia, potentially complicating Georgians' access to international protection amid their country’s anti-democratic turn.

Georgian Interior Ministry issued binding warnings, instructing demonstrators to confine Rustaveli Avenue rallies in Tbilisi to the parliament stairs and adjacent areas and “not to obstruct traffic” of pedestrians or vehicles:

Daily protests continue in Tbilisi as police warn to enforce new laws that extend protest restrictions to sidewalks. 🎥 Nini Gabritchidze/Civil.ge

Having been blocked from inclusion in annual defense bill (NDAA), observers say the MEGOBARI Act could still return to the Senate agenda in 2026, including as a standalone measure brought to the floor for a vote.

EU Commission warned of “appropriate measures” against Georgia in annual visa report, first to target holders of diplomatic, service, and official passports, with eventual prospect of suspending visa-free travel for entire country.

The UK has called on Georgia to reduce its reliance on Russian oil and to strengthen efforts to prevent imports from the “Russian shadow fleet,” a day after it sanctioned a company that recently shipped oil to a Georgian refinery.

Georgia’s foreign trade in January-November saw 9.5% year-on-year increase, according to official data, with motor cars again dominating both imports and exports.

Georgia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 6.4% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025, reaching GEL 27.9 billion, according to preliminary data released by the National Statistics Office (Geostat).

U.S. has sanctioned Gocha Lortkipanidze, ex-Georgian justice minister who is serving as a judge at the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC), over his involvement in ICC proceedings against Israeli nationals.

Zurab Girchi Japaridze, leader of the opposition Girchi-More Freedom party, was released from Rustavi prison early on December 19 after completing a seven-month sentence for defying the so-called Tsulukiani Commission.

A train with Azerbaijani fuel is to pass Georgia en route to Armenia, marking the first such shipment in decades amid an unfolding broader peace process between the two South Caucasus countries after prolonged conflict.

GD-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili is visiting Serbia, where he has met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and National Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabić.

Members of the European Parliament debated on December 17 “the deepening democratic crisis in Georgia":

An international group of 65 academics called on GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze to “rethink” proposed higher education reform, warning it risks closing “the last sphere in Georgia which is open to healthy dissent.”

CoE Human Rights Commissioner has raised concerns over the progress in investigating the use of force by law enforcers against protesters last November and December, in a letter addressed to Georgia’s Prosecutor General Giorgi Gvarakidze.

Georgian Dream wraps up fall session by rubber-stamping laws ending voting for Georgians abroad, dissolving Anti-Corruption Bureau, and scrapping so-called South Ossetia provisional administration, among others.

Georgia's central bank decided to keep its key refinancing rate unchanged at 8%, maintaining what it called “a moderately tight monetary policy.” The bank has not adjusted the rate since May 2024.

Georgia’s EU accession had “effectively come to a standstill,” according to the EU Council presidency document backed by 26 states and calling on Tbilisi to free those "arbitrarily" detained and meet visa-free benchmarks “without delay.”

Georgian police arrested 49 people linked with the so-called “thieves’ world,” in a major nationwide operation targeting a criminal underworld, authorities announced on December 16.

Georgia will be among the countries signing the convention establishing the International Claims Commission for Ukraine, a measure intended to ensure repayment of war damages for Kyiv amid Russian aggression.

Russia is “seriously committed” to normalizing relations with Georgia, but “the main thing” is that Tbilisi does not become “a bargaining chip in anti-Russian games,” Russian Foreign Ministry official Mikhail Kalugin said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

Dorote Kurashvili, a Georgian cleric known for his outspoken criticism of both the ruling party and senior church leadership, has been suspended from performing priestly duties, according to a decision issued on December 15 by the Georgian Patriarchate.

Russia has sentenced Georgian national Giorgi Partsvania to 28 years in prison in absentia on multiple charges related to his fighting on the Ukrainian side against Russian and separatist forces, Russia’s Investigative Committee said on December 12.

Georgia's public employment program was never a serious route out of poverty: it looked more like a political instrument to keep tens of thousands of vulnerable people formally attached to the state:

Tamar Taliashvili, Georgia’s ambassador to the United States, met with Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), whose opposition has reportedly stalled progress on the MEGOBARI Act – a U.S. sanctions bill targeting officials from the Georgian Dream party.

Georgia’s disputed Parliament adopted laws requiring the Health Ministry to create a centralized database of people with mental health–related conditions, a move critics, including psychologists, warn could become a “tool for control, discrimination and manipulation.”

Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze attended an international forum in Turkmenistan alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and other regional leaders.

Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze is visiting Turkmenistan, for the third time this year.

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Georgia violated three rights during the violent dispersal of the June 20-21, 2019, protests in Tbilisi, known as “Gavrilov’s Night.”

The State Security Service of Georgia dismissed media reports that a planned visit of Israeli Knesset members to Tbilisi was canceled due to a “potential terrorist attack.”

Georgian Dream is considering relocating major state institutions to a vast “government town” on a hilltop in Tbilisi.