Strategic Analysis Caucasus Brief

Review of February 2025

Tomáš Baranec 

Armenia

Vineyards, Aragatsotn province, Armenia. Photo: Elena Diego/ Shutterstock.com

The largest tax-paying company in Armenia hit by strike

On January 31, production at Armenia’s largest mine, the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC), halted as hundreds of workers struck for better pay and conditions. During the first-ever strike in the mine, workers demanded a 50% pay rise and improvements to their working environment. “Work has stopped in several production facilities of the combinate,” a ZCMC spokesman told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on February 2.

Management rejected the workers’ demands, described the strike as illegal, and threatened its participants with “legal proceedings” shortly after it began on January 31. In a series of statements, it said that the protesters represent only a fraction of the ZCMC workforce, which numbers some 4,600 people. It also argued that they earn between 329,000 and 594,000 AMD (825-1,490 USD) per month, which is well above Armenia’s current average wage of 291,000 AMD.

A leader of the striking workers, Shavarsh Margaryan, countered that these figures represent their pre-tax gross wages. “People earn 30 per cent less than those sums,” he said, accusing the management of misleading the public. On February 7, following one week of the strike, ZCMC fired eight organisers. The company accused them of “inciting and organising illegal actions and production sabotage.” It said their dismissal conformed to Armenian labour legislation.

In a statement, ZCMC management also warned the other striking employees to return to work immediately or risk losing their jobs. “Your guarantee of retaining employment at ZCMC depends on your immediate resumption of work,” it said. “It was a predictable move for which we were ready,” one of the fired workers, Vahe Mkhitarian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.

The ZCMC employees stopped their strike on the 11th day, noting that an agreement had been reached with management to resolve all the issues raised. “Guided by the state interest and the principle of social partnership and demonstrating a constructive approach, we have decided to resume the working regime of ZCMC”, Vahe Mkhitaryan, one of the strike coordinators, announced on Facebook Live, insisting that they had “legitimate reasons” for their strike.

The Zangezur Mine announced that it would increase the total wage fund “by an average of 20%” and that it would “apply the new wage system in the main production facilities within a month of the resumption of production”. In addition, they promised to launch a new tender in February to choose a new insurance company to meet employees’ requirements. They also “guarantee[d]” to install “modern, highly efficient ventilation and aspiration systems” in the main production facilities no later than the end of 2025.”

In turn, Roman Khudoly, the mine’s general director, blamed an unnamed group of people for planning the “illegal” strike and “misleading and using the combine’s staff to achieve their personal goals. Khudoly claimed the group intended “to gain control of the combine, to take control of all material flows”.

As OC Media reminded, the Zangezur Combine is the largest tax-paying company in Armenia, with the Armenian government owning 21.8% of the total shares — 15% of the shares were granted to the government in 2021 by the Industrial Company, while another 6.8% were granted by AMP Holding in 2022.

After a week of striking, the management told the media last Friday that “the company suffered a loss of about 400 million AMD (1 million USD) per day, and the state suffered a loss of more than 100 million AMD (252 000 USD) per day in taxes alone”.

Sources:
  •  Minexeurasia.com, “Armenian Mining Giant Hit By First-Ever Workers’ Strike”, https://2024.minexeurasia.com/2025/02/03/armenian-mining-giant-hit-by-first-ever-workers-strike-8/
  • ZARGARIAN Robert, Azatutyun.am, “Strike Organisers Fired By Armenian Mining Giant”, https://www.azatutyun.am/a/33307193.html
  • STEPANIAN Ruzanna, HOVSEPIAN Tigran, Armenian Mining Giant Hit „The Armenian Mirror-Spectator“, https://mirrorspectator.com/2025/02/06/armenian-mining-giant-hit-by-first-ever-strike/
  • BARSEGHYAN Arshaluys, OC Media, “With demands met, employees of Zangezur Mine stop their strike”, https://oc-media.org/with-demands-met-employees-of-zangezur-mine-stop-their-strike
Former commander of de facto Nagorno Karabakh army sentenced to five years and six months imprisonment

A court in Armenia’s Syunik region sentenced Jalal Harutyunyan, the former commander of de facto Artsakh’s Defense Army, to 5 years and 6 months in prison following a trial that examined his role in the 2020 war, reported Civilnet.am. Harutyunyan was found guilty of on-duty negligence, which led to severe consequences. The conviction primarily centres on the October 12, 2020, incident that happened near the Karabakh village of Juvarly, where 20 servicemen were killed, seven were wounded, and one officer remains missing to this day.

The prosecution argued that Harutyunyan misidentified approaching forces as friendly units during combat. In addition to causing numerous casualties, the enemy force, numbering over 100 personnel, overtook the artillery positions, capturing eight howitzers, four Ural trucks, significant amounts of ammunition, and classified documents.

This conviction relates to only one of the original charges against Harutyunyan. In November 2023, he was cleared of separate charges related to a failed counteroffensive on October 7-8, 2020. A military commission of 11 experts concluded in a 306-page report that Harutyunyan had acted diligently and competently during that operation.

According to Civilnet.am Harutyunyan’s conviction comes amid a broader pattern of legal proceedings against high-ranking military commanders who served during the 2020 war. Most recently, Lieutenant General Tiran Khachatryan, former Deputy Chief of Armenia’s General Staff, was arrested on similar charges of military negligence in January. Khachatryan faces accusations from Armenia’s Investigative Committee regarding his command decisions during combat operations.

These cases have sparked debate about accountability for the war’s outcome. Defence lawyers argue the prosecutions are politically motivated, particularly targeting officers who were involved in the February 2021 call for Pashinyan’s removal, including both Harutyunyan and Khachatryan. Pashinyan later labelled the call an attempted coup.

Sources:
  • PRACHT Alexander, Civilnet.am, „Former Artsakh army commander sentenced to 5.5 years in prison for fatal negligence during 2020 war”, https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/816402/former-artsakh-army-commander-sentenced-to-5-5-years-in-prison-for-fatal-negligence-during-2020-war/
Armenian security forces arrested several local politicians

In February 2025, Armenian security forces arrested, in two separate cases, former Gyumri mayor and several senior officials from Yerevan’s municipal administration. Vardan Ghukasyan, the ex-mayor of Armenia’s second city, Gyumri, and his bodyguard, Tigran Simonyan, were arrested on suspicion of carrying illegal weapons and ammunition. The two were later released, and Ghukasyan claimed the detentions were a form of political pressure on him prior to the upcoming local elections scheduled for March 30.

Following their release, Ghukasyan’s lawyer, Aramayis Hayrapetyan, said the authorities found no prohibited items. Hayrapetyan claimed that Ghukasyan’s arrest on the eve of the elections, “with actions resembling torture, causing bodily harm, is nothing more than political pressure or very least an attempt at political pressure”. RFE/RL reported that Ghukasyan sustained scratches on his face and head while his bodyguard was taken to the hospital by ambulance from the police department.

They also noted that members of the ruling Civil Contract party first spread the news of Ghukasyan’s arrest on social media. Ghukasyan was the head of Gyumri from 1999–2012 and was a member of the formerly ruling Republican Party (2006–2017). From 2017–2019, he served as an MP representing the Prosperous Armenia party. In the upcoming elections, he will be a nominee of the Communist Party.

Last August, the Anti-Corruption Court accepted the Prosecutor General’s Office’s claim for proceedings to confiscate from Ghukasyan and his affiliated persons 17 real estate properties, one vehicle, two shares in legal entities, and 4.5 million AMD (11,000 USD) as the remainder of illegal income, as well as an additional 218 million AMD (550 000 USD), which was not substantiated by the person’s legal income and had an illegal origin.

Meanwhile, several senior officials from Yerevan’s municipal administration were arrested on February 5 in a criminal investigation conducted by Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC). Sources told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that the ACC rounded up seven persons, including the head of the Yerevan municipality’s Public Order Service, Aram Gyulzadyan, and two senior officials from its department dealing with construction permits and land allocations. They allegedly took or gave bribes, the sources said. The ACC did not deny the information. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Mayor Tigran Avinian said that his office is cooperating with the investigators.

Sources:

Photo: Shutterstock.com

Criminal case launched against Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian over social media caption

Armenian authorities have launched a criminal case against a Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian for “inciting and propagating hatred, intolerance, and hostility” towards Yerevan and the police. The case caused widespread outrage in Armenian society. The charges were brought against Gharib Babayan, the head of the Independent Centre for Strategic Studies, after the organisation published a video on January 30 showing a group of men singing about Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijani in Yerevan’s Republic Square.

Accompanying the video was a Russian caption that alleged the people singing were Azerbaijani. The text also pointed to police inaction, questioning what would happen if a group of young Armenians sang a song, even if not nationalistic, in Armenian in Baku.

“What have these corrupt scumbags in power turned our country into that the Azeris behave so brazenly and impudently in the centre of Yerevan?”, the caption on Facebook read. The video went viral on social media the same evening it was published.

Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) said that the men shown in the video are Iranian nationals (presumably of Azerbaijani descent) who visited the country for the New Year holidays. On February 1, the NSS announced that it had brought charges against Babayan based on the NSS report.

Critics of the Armenian government reacted furiously to the development, saying that Babayan did not break any laws and that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ordered the criminal proceedings to discourage protests against his plans for more Armenian concessions to Azerbaijan. Hundreds of them rallied against the court building in Yerevan on Saturday night during court hearings on Babayan’s pre-trial arrest.

Armenia’s Human Rights Defender called the article under which the criminal prosecution was launched “concerning”. Similarly, ex-human rights defender Arman Tatoyan claimed that the case was “completely illegal, unconstitutional”. “The text published by 70-year-old Artsakh Armenian Gharib Babayan is not hatred by any international standard. It is a critical speech with appropriate questions”, Tatoyan wrote on Facebook.

In turn, Babayan’s friend, Artur Osipyan, told CivilNet that “government propagandists” were trying to link Babayan’s activities with Russia, claiming that such accusations were untrue. For instance, Gnel Sargsyan, a former member of the ruling Civil Contract party, claimed that “this looks like another organised media act of terrorism”.

Tigran Grigoryan, political analyst and the head of the Regional Centre for Democracy and Security in Yerevan, wrote on Facebook that the case could be part of the Armenian authority’s need “to combat hybrid threats”, which was also highlighted in a recent report by the Foreign Intelligence Service. “I think the authorities perceived the release of that video as a hybrid operation, and they decided to take active steps. In that sense, the concerns that under the guise of combating hybrid threats, the authorities would simply become more repressive were legitimate”, Grigoryan wrote. He also stated that the ruling party and affiliated civil society had “the perception that the people of Artsakh are a hybrid threat and can be used against the sovereignty of Armenia”.

Sources:

  • BARSEGHYAN Arshaluys, OC Media, “Criminal case launched against Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian over social media caption”, https://oc-media.org/criminal-case-launched-against-nagorno-karabakh-armenian-over-social-media-caption/

  • SARIBEKIAN Gayane, Azatutyun.am, “Man Prosecuted After Exposing Pro-Azeri Celebration In Yerevan”, https://www.azatutyun.am/a/33301492.html

Armenia moves to heavily tax gambling sector amid soaring revenues

The Armenian National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a proposal to significantly increase taxes on organisations operating in the gambling business, ruling party MP Hayk Sargsyan announced during a parliamentary debate.

Sargsyan proposed reforming the taxation system for online games with winnings and online casinos while totalisers and bookmakers would remain unaffected. Citing his research, he noted that the gambling industry’s turnover had skyrocketed from 14 billion AMD (35.770.000 USD) to 6.3 trillion AMD (16.096.000.000 USD) in Armenia.

“At the same time, revenues from taxes and duties have increased from 1 billion AMD (2.555.000 USD) to 33 billion AMD (84.315.000 USD),” he stated, arguing that the existing tax structure fails to capture the industry’s true profits due to self-reported financial figures that authorities cannot verify.

To address this, Sargsyan proposed introducing a 10% turnover tax in addition to existing taxes and duties, estimating that this measure would generate an additional 100 billion AMD (255.500.000 USD) annually for the state budget. “This will lead to an additional 100 billion AMD being added to the [Armenian] state budget every year,” the lawmaker said.

Sources:
Poll shows only 11.3% support for the ruling Civil Contract Party in Armenia

As reported by Caucasus Watch, a survey conducted on 20-22 January showed that only 11.3% of respondents would vote for the ruling Civil Contract party in Armenia “if elections were held next Sunday”, Aram Navasardyan, director of the MPG company and a sociologist, told journalists at a meeting on January 29.

Navasardyan stressed that this was the lowest level of support ever recorded for the Civil Contract party. The poll showed that 6.8% of respondents would vote for the “Democracy, Law and Discipline” party, 6.5% for the “Armenia” bloc, 2.4% for the “Prosperous Armenia” party, 2.3% for the “I Have Honour” bloc, 1.8% for the “Republic” party, 0.9% for the “Bright Armenia” party and 0.5% for the “In the Name of the Motherland” movement.

Sources:

  • Caucasus Watch, “Poll Shows Only 11.3% Support for Ruling Civil Contract Party in Armenia”, https://caucasuswatch.de/en/news/poll-shows-only-113-support-for-ruling-civil-contract-party-in-armenia.html

Azerbaijan

City of Shusha. Photo: Eva Mont/ Shutterstock.com

Relations between Azerbaijan and Russia seem to deteriorate

In February 2025, the trend of a sharp deterioration in traditionally stable relations between Baku and Moscow continued. The spat started in January 2025, following the incident in which Russian air defences shot down an Azerbaijani passenger plane. On February 6, Azerbaijan said it terminated operations of the Russian House, the Russian information and cultural centre in Baku.

“After the Russian side was informed that the Russian Information and Cultural Center – ‘Russian House,’ the representative office of ‘Rossotrudnichestvo’ in Azerbaijan, did not have registration as a legal entity and the organisation has been seriously violating Azerbaijani legislation, a note verbal was conveyed to the Russian side on February 3, 2025, terminating the activities of ‘Russian House’,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Ayhan Hajizada.

In a separate statement, Evgeny Primakov, the head of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation, said Russia repeatedly asked Azerbaijani authorities for help with registration, but these calls remained unanswered.

At the same time, a Baku TV report accused the “Russian House” cultural centre in Baku of espionage activities. In the broadcast, the anchor stated, “Unfortunately, this is no longer the ‘Russian House’ but a house of Russian espionage.” While the report gained significant domestic attention, there have been no official comments on the matter. Nevertheless, pro-government Azerbaijani media outlets Qafqazinfo and Konkretalso started to write about the threat of Russian intelligence operatives in the country and accused several former Azerbaijani officials of spying for Russia.

As Azerbaijan–Russia relations continue to sour, Russian MP Nikolai Valuev has been declared “persona non grata” by Baku. Baku announced Valuev’s persona non grata status after several Russian lawmakers shared their opinions regarding Azerbaijan’s decision to close Baku’s Russian House. In a post on Telegram, Valuev criticised ethnic Azerbaijanis in Russia and the Kremlin could impose retaliatory moves against the diaspora, which he called “their main tools of influence.”

He suggested that Russia should “run this whole gang through the sieve of the law”, implying that law enforcement would find evidence of “illegal migration, tax evasion, corporate raiding, and other interesting things”. Another Russian lawmaker, Yevgeny Popov, warned there would be “tit for tat” consequences if Azerbaijan closed the Russian House. In response, Azerbaijani MP Nizami Safarov said, “It is more likely that Popov himself will be shut down.” Reporting on Safarov’s comments, the pro-government media outlet Calibersaid he had “put [Popov] in his place.”

Sources:
  •  TESLOVA Elena, AA.com, “Azerbaijan terminates operations of Russian House in Baku”, https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/azerbaijan-terminates-operations-of-russian-house-in-baku/3474115
  • FARHADOVA Aytan, OC Media, “Russian MP declared ‘persona non grata’ by Azerbaijan as relations continue to deteriorate”, https://oc-media.org/russian-mp-declared-persona-non-grata-by-azerbaijan-as-relations-continue-to-deteriorate/
  • JAM News, “‘Russian House’ sparks new tensions between Russia and Azerbaijan”, https://jam-news.net/russian-house-sparks-new-tensions-between-russia-and-azerbaijan/
Aliyev signs cargo cooperation deal with Russia despite heightened tensions

President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order approving the cooperation agreement between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation on developing transit freight traffic along the international transport corridor “North-South”, informed Report.az. The order instructs the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan to ensure the implementation of the provisions following its entry into force.

According to OC Media, the signing of the agreement signals that Baku is likely cautious about how far it wants to escalate its current spat with Moscow. Trade between Russia and Azerbaijan has continued to increase in recent years, particularly after the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine and the subsequent international isolation of Russia.

Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee told Interfax in January that “trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Russia rose 10.1% year-on-year to nearly 4.8 billion USD […], placing Russia third among Azerbaijan’s foreign trade partners after Italy and Turkey”.

Sources:
  • Report.az, “Ilham Aliyev approves agreement with Russia on North-South corridor”, https://report.az/en/infrastructure/ilham-aliyev-approves-agreement-with-russia-on-north-south-corridor/

  • OSTILLER Nate, OC Media, “Aliyev signs cargo cooperation deal with Russia despite heightened tensions”, https://oc-media.org/aliyev-signs-cargo-cooperation-deal-with-russia-despite-heightened-tensions/

Photo: Shutterstock.com

Crackdown on Azerbaijani media continues

Shamshad Aghayev (Agha), the editor-in-chief of the “argument.az” website and a journalist for Meydan TV, was detained on February 5. His lawyer, Shahla Humbatova, stated that Aghayev was detained as a suspect under Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code (smuggling—committed by a group of individuals acting in concert). According to local media, Aghayev was detained in connection with the “Meydan TV case.”

As OC Media reminded, last year, Agha was recognised as a witness in the two criminal cases opened against Toplum and Meydan TV, and before that, hosted a programme on Toplum TV. As he was being questioned, the investigator told Agha he was banned from leaving the country. On the same day Toplum TV editor Shahnaz Baylargizi was also detained. RFE/RL stated that her apartment in Baku was raided.

The next detention occurred on February 20, when Baku’s Khatai District Court remanded journalist Nurlan (Libre) Gahramanli to one month and 15 days in pre-trial detention. Gahramanli, as well as Aghayev, is accused of smuggling money as part of the Meydan TV case. Gahramanli was previously detained in 2023 and sentenced to administrative arrest for sharing social posts against war. He has repeatedly stated that government pressure has been exerted against him.

Meanwhile, two remaining independent media, Turan and BBC Azerbaijan, were forced to close offices. In a letter addressed to its readers, Turan director Mehman Aliyev announced they would be shutting down their offices due to financial problems and would stop publishing as a news outlet but rather as an analytical one. Turan is the oldest independent media outlet in Azerbaijan. Aliyev stated that no one demanded them to stop their work or threatened them with arrest. However, opposition politician Jamil Hasanli later wrote on social media that “undoubtedly, the reason is not only financial difficulties but also the politics that create these difficulties, the environment, the persecution of the press and freedom of speech”. The government’s first attack on Turan was in August 2017, when Aliyev was detained for three months and was accused of tax evasion.

At the same time, Qafqazinfo reported that the activities of Sputnik Azerbaijan and BBC News Azerbaijan had been suspended. Sputnik Azerbaijan operated as a branch of the Russian international information agency Rossiya Segodnya. Local media reported that the editorial offices of BBC News Azerbaijan would also be adjusted. This decision was made to ensure parity between the activities of Azerbaijani state media abroad and foreign journalists in Azerbaijan. In other words, the number of media journalists working in Baku would equal the number of AZERTAC journalists in Russia.

As OC Media reminds, six employees of Meydan TV – Aynur Elgunash, Aysel Umudova, Aytaj Ahmadova (Tapdig), Khayala Aghayeva, Ramin Jabrayilzada (Deko), and Natig Javadli, as well as Deputy Director of the Baku School of Journalism Ulvi Tahirov – were detained on December 6, 2024. They have been charged under Article 206.3.2 of the Criminal Code (smuggling committed by a group of individuals acting together). As a result, each of them was given a detention measure of 4 months during the investigation period.

Searches were conducted at the homes of the detained journalists, and their phones, computers, and other personal belongings were seized. The arrested journalists do not consider themselves guilty. They have stated they are being punished for their critical activities, including their work at Meydan TV. On February 21, imprisoned academic Bahruz Samadov announced in court that he had started a hunger strike. Journalist Ulviyya Ali said that the court declined his lawyer’s motion to release him under house arrest.

Sources:
Azerbaijan establishes temporary checkpoints near Russian border

On February 3, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale security operation, “Border Shield”, along its northern frontier with Russia, aiming to combat transnational organised crime, terrorism and illicit arms and drug trafficking. The operation, running from February 3-10, was conducted across the northern districts of Quba, Gusar, Khachmaz, Balakan, Zagatala, Gakh, Sheki, Oguz and Gabala, with police checkpoints set up in key areas. According to Azerbaijan’s state news agency AzərTAc, the operation was based on agreements reached between the Azerbaijani and Russian foreign ministers on enhancing border cooperation.

While Azerbaijani authorities insist that Border Shield was a standard security operation, its scale and objectives indicate a broader agenda, wrote bne IntelliNews. The operation aims to identify and neutralise members of transnational organised crime groups and terrorist organisations, disrupt smuggling routes for weapons, explosives, and narcotics and prevent illicit financial flows that could support criminal and extremist activities. Given the geopolitical backdrop, some observers see it as part of Baku’s strategy to reinforce its sovereignty over border areas at a time when relations with Russia are increasingly uncertain.

Earlier on February 3, Azerbaijan’s State Security Service (SSS) and the Interior Ministry released information regarding an operation in the village Jibir in the Gusar district, near the Russian border, which led to the deaths of eight people, with six more detained, seemingly implying the rationale behind the temporary checkpoints. According to the joint statement, underground shelters were found near the villages of Hil, Jibir, and Yasab, which were allegedly created by people linked to the Forest Brothers, also known as Derbent Jamaat, a militant group which participated in the Chechen wars in the 2000s.

“During the inspection of the discovered shelters, peat intended for the manufacture of explosive devices, acetone, detonators, remote-controlled explosive mechanisms, reinforcement and lead parts used as shrapnel, two Kalashnikov assault rifles, three guns, cartridges, and machine gun bullets were seized, as well as essential items, as well as a flag, which is the symbol of an illegal armed formation recognised as [belonging to] a terrorist organisation, were identified and seized”, the statement read. According to the Interior Ministry and the SSS, during an operation to locate one of the group members, the suspect threw two RGO-78 hand grenades, which resulted in one of the special forces officers being wounded.

Sources:

Georgia

Borjomi, spa town in Georgia. Photo: Anton Ivanov/ Shutterstock.com

Protesters attempted to block Tbilisi’s northern entrance

Georgian police detained 31 people during the February 2 protest, where thousands of protesters attempted to block Tbilisi’s northern entrance, which police have tried to violently disperse by physically and verbally assaulting the protesters. The blockade of one of the main roads into the city was announced as a demonstration of the pro-EU and anti-government movement’s strength and persistence as the protest movement entered its 67th day of protests against the ruling Georgian Dream party’s decision to suspend the country’s EU membership bid.

A large number of police, including riot police, were mobilised to prevent protesters from blocking the highway in northern Tbilisi—one of the capital’s major entrances. OC Media wrote that many officers present at the scene had their faces covered with balaclavas. During the protest, Georgian authorities arrested several opposition figures, prompting the European Union to again condemn what it termed the “brutal crackdown” on dissent.

At least one of the detained protesters – Nika Melia, a leader of the Coalition for Change – was later released but said he was subject to physical violence while being held by the police. Video from the February 2 protest shows Melia being held and forcibly led away by black-clad security personnel. Melia later told opposition TV Pirveli that at least 25 others were arrested during the day and that some were also subject to physical violence while being held.

An AFP journalist on the scene reported that Former Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava, another opposition figure, was also arrested. Security forces also detained Tamar Tevzadze, a student activist from Tbilisi’s Ilia State University. Video from her arrest appears to show her screaming as multiple security personnel hold her on the ground.

The protesters were unable to fully occupy the highway but were able to partially block it from time to time. Later that evening, they marched to parliament 14 kilometres away from the city’s entrance, chanting “police everywhere, justice nowhere,” and “no justice, no peace.” Some drivers passing by the marching protesters honked their car horns to support the protest.

Sources:
  • GVADZABIA Mikheil, OC Media, “Police detain 31 protesters during protest to block one of the main roads into Tbilisi”, https://oc-media.org/police-detain-31-protesters-during-protest-to-block-one-of-the-main-roads-into-tbilisi/
  • RFE/RL, “’Brutal Crackdown‘ Continues In Georgia As Protesters Rally In Tbilisi”, https://www.rferl.org/a/georgia-protest-tbilisi-melia-kallas-eu/33300543.html
New repressive legislation proposed in Georgia

After two months of continuous protests, the Georgian government announced further tightening of repressive legislation. A new decree issued by the GD government on January 31 has added “highways of state and international importance” to the list of strategic and especially critical facilities, significantly altering the legal landscape for public protests. The decree “On the Approval of the List of Strategic and/or Especially Important Facilities,” signed by the GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, was published in the Legislative Herald (Matsne) and took effect immediately.

The GD government’s decision amends Decree No. 361 of October 23, 2024, establishing the criteria for strategic and/or specially important facilities. With the latest change, highways in Georgia—most notably, the Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze highway—are now classified under the same legal framework as broadcasting facilities and communication institutions.

This new status criminalises the seizure or blockade of these roads under Article 222 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, with violators facing corrective labour or imprisonment for 2 years. The same offence carries up to four years of imprisonment if committed “jointly” or “repeatedly.”

On February 3, the ruling Georgian Dream also announced legislative changes aimed at increasing sanctions for several administrative and criminal offences, including “insulting officials” and “assaulting police.” Threatening to attack or use violence against civil servants will become a criminal offence, too. Public calls for violence, which used to be an administrative offence, will now be punished by imprisonment for up to three years instead of financial sanctions.

GD parliamentary majority leader Mamuka Mdinaradze said the proposed amendments are only the first part of the process and promised that it would continue “until the imposed norms are completely replaced by the adoption of norms necessary for the proper functioning and independence of the state.” He said the relevant amendments had already been drafted. Sanctions will be increased for both administrative and criminal violations, including:

Indoor rallies without the prior consent of the building owner will be prohibited;

The penalties, both fines and detention periods, will be increased for various administrative offences, including petty hooliganism, disobeying a lawful order of a police officer, vandalism, insulting the police, and blocking court entrances.

The period of administrative detention is increased from 15 to 60 days;

Insulting a public official in connection with their work will become a new administrative offence;

Public calls for violence will now be punished by imprisonment for up to three years instead of a fine;

Resisting, threatening, and using violence against the police will now fall under the category of serious crimes, punishable by five to ten years in prison;

Attacking police, state authority, and their family members will have new aggravating circumstances: committing these crimes in groups, under various conditions, and with dangerous means;

The punishment for the crime of harming the health of police officers will be increased.

Sources:

  • Civil.ge, “Ahead of Scheduled Major Protest, GD Makes Closing Highways a Crime, Police Detains Activists”, https://civil.ge/archives/658668

  • Civil.ge, “GD Announces More Repressive Legislative Changes”, https://civil.ge/archives/659043

Georgian police raid homes of three activists

Georgian police raided the homes of three activists, reported OC Media. The raids took place ahead of the February 2 protest, in which protesters attempted to block one of the primary roads into Tbilisi. On February 1, in a practically simultaneous move, police raided the homes of civic activist Kristina Botkoveli (known as Nancy Woland), Ilia Ghlonti, and Isako Devidze. Police have shortly detained Ghlonti and Botkoveli.

Botkovel and Ghlonti are the co-founders of Daitove, a Facebook group launched during the foreign agent law protests in 2024, which is used to help people from outside of Tbilisi to participate in the demonstrations in the city. Botkoveli reportedly felt unwell after the search at her home, and an ambulance had to be called. According to Netgazeti, her lawyer, Shota Tutberidze, said that Botkoveli refused to voluntarily go with the police for questioning, after which they reportedly threatened to take her to the police station by force “in an ugly manner”, suggesting that the police might have threatened to falsify evidence against her. The police also confiscated her mother’s phone while she was filming them.

Botkoveli told RFE/RL that the police took some of her personal belongings, including a phone, iPad, laptop, and an old camera, as well as eight scarves with the stars of the EU flag printed on them. Daitove co-founder Ghlonti was taken to a police station after the raid on his apartment. He said that the police confiscated some of his personal belongings as well.

Both Botkoveli and Ghlonti had said that the raids on their homes were linked to the mass protest planned for the following day when thousands of protesters gathered at one of the city’s main entrances with the intent of blocking it. Botkoveli later stated that during a search of her home on February 1, female police officers ordered her to strip completely.

The activist plans to take a short break from the ongoing processes “in order to regain composure”. However, she emphasised that this does not mean she will stop fighting. „We all need to share responsibility; everyone must have a role in these processes, and I have done enough and maximum at every stage. Now, a criminal case has been initiated against me, and this injustice is driving me crazy“, Botkoveli stated.

Sources:
Georgian Dream expels 49 opposition MPs

On February 5, the GD parliament terminated the mandates of 49 opposition MPs from three political alliances. The Coalition for Change, Unity-UNM and Strong Georgia had submitted formal requests to the GD parliament for their mandates to be revoked following the disputed October 26 elections, which they assess as rigged.

The parliament, which was originally supposed to have 150 members, is now reduced to 101. The party Gakharia for Georgia remains in parliament with 12 seats but, like other opposition groups, has declared the October 26 elections illegitimate and refuses to participate in parliamentary activities. Opposition leaders warn that the mandate termination could lead to a new wave of repression by the GD government. “Ivanishvili has orders from the Kremlin to neutralise all politicians who play a significant role in civil resistance and protests,” stated Irakli Kupradze, one of the leaders of Strong Georgia.

Sources:

Photo: Shutterstock.com

Georgian Dream establishes a commission to punish the former ruling UNM party

On January 9, Georgian Dream’s Executive Secretary and GD Parliamentary Majority Leader Mamuka Mdinaradze announced that the GD parliament is planning to establish a temporary investigative commission in the first week of the spring session to probe into alleged crimes committed by the United National Movement  (UNM) government in 2003-2012.

Speaking at a briefing Mdinaradze repeated a detailed GD narrative about the “bloody nine years” of the UNM rule, adding that the commission will investigate “systemic crimes” including “torture of prisoners,” “killing of individuals, violence, and invasion of privacy,” “corruption and pressure on businesses,” “appropriation of media outlets from legal owners,” and “the [alleged] acknowledgement [by UNM] of the start of the 2008 war.” He added, “to avoid speculation, we emphasise that military commanders and soldiers will not be the addressees of the investigation regarding the 2008 war.”

The UNM chair Tina Bokuchava called the commission a “circus performance” and said that Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of Georgian Dream, is trying to “cover up his crimes”.

Sources:

  • Civil.ge, “GD Announces Creation of Parliamentary Commission to Investigate UNM’s Alleged Systemic Crimes”, https://civil.ge/archives/650493

  • OC Media, “Georgian Dream establishes a commission to punish former ruling UNM party”, https://oc-media.org/georgian-dream-establishes-commission-to-punish-former-ruling-unm-party/

EU Parliament calls for sanctions against Ivanishvili and others and non-recognition of the Georgian Dream government

On February 13, the European Parliament approved another critical resolution on Georgia, declaring the Georgian Dream government illegitimate, calling for sanctions against its affiliated political elite, and demanding the release of those arrested during recent protests. The resolution was supported by 400 MEPs, while 63 voted against it and 81 abstained.

The text put to the vote was based on resolutions initiated by the Greens/European Free Alliance (Verts/ALE), the European People’s Party (EPP), the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), Renew Europe, and the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). The new resolution expands the list of individuals the European Parliament urges to be sanctioned. Additionally, the document states that “resolving Georgia’s ongoing political and constitutional crisis can only be achieved through new parliamentary elections.”

GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze claimed the resolution “has no value… given that this is another, already sixth, completely unjust resolution.” “This is an attack on Georgia. This is also an attack on the independence of specific media. All this reminds us of the nine-year period [referring to UNM’s government] during which a harsh regime operated, which attacked statehood and the independence of the media in our country, and this regime was run by the same forces that are now initiating such resolutions in the European Parliament”, claimed Kobakhidze.

The GD Parliament’s European Integration Committee chairman, Levan Makhashvili, characterised the resolution as a “blank piece of paper, empty words.” Zurab Japaridze, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change, on the other hand stressed that the resolution speaks of non-recognition of the election results. “Therefore, neither the parliament nor Kavelashvili are recognised”, he added.

Sources:

  • JAM News, “European Parliament passes resolution urging EU not to recognise Georgian Dream’s legitimacy”, https://jam-news.net/european-parliament-passes-resolution-urging-eu-not-to-recognize-georgian-dreams-legitimacy/

  • Civil.ge, “Domestic Reactions to European Parliament Resolution”, https://civil.ge/archives/662741

Public Registry Blocks Registration of Civil Servants’ Trade Union

The Georgian Public Registry has repeatedly blocked the registration of the “Independent Trade Union of Civil Servants – Article 78 of the Constitution”, which is positioned to protect the rights of those dismissed from civil service allegedly for political reasons.

Transparency International-Georgia (TI Georgia), a local watchdog providing legal support to the dismissed civil servants, says the Public Registry’s decisions to block the “effective functioning” of the trade union are politically motivated. Eka Gigauri, the director of TI-Georgia, said at a briefing on February 27 that the ruling Georgian Dream government is “afraid” of the union of independent civil servants. She says that such a union contradicts the ruling party’s goal of establishing a civil service that is “obedient” and “slavish” to the government.

The civil servants’ union was founded in December last year after the GD’s decision to abort EU integration and the subsequent purge of civil servants who criticised the ruling party and supported the pro-EU protests. The Public Registry rejected the union’s registration application on several occasions, even though the necessary documents were submitted. Gigauri said that once, in the second rejected application in February, the Public Registry “disliked” the trade union’s name.

According to TI Georgia unconfirmed data, approximately 400 people have already been dismissed from the public service,” reads the organisation’s statement, as cited by Business Media.

Sources:

  • Civil.ge, “Public Registry Blocks Registration of Civil Servants’ Trade Union”, https://civil.ge/archives/666037

  • Bm.ge, “Over 400 People Have Been Dismissed From The Public Service – TI Georgia”, https://bm.ge/en/news/over-400-people-have-been-dismissed-from-the-public-service-ti-georgia

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