2019 Georgia Club Raids

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Then Georgian Dream Chair Bidzina Ivanishvili presenting Giorgi Gakharia as candidate for PM on 3 September 2019. Photo: Georgian Dream

Opposition and activists rally against Gakharia as Georgia’s next PM

by OC Media

•6 min read

Controversial Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia is slated to become the country’s next prime minister, the fifth under the rule of Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream party. The ‘Shame!’ campaign by the For Freedom group, which has been demanding Gakharia’s resignation since June, called on people to protest his nomination for prime minister, which was unveiled earlier on Tuesday by Georgian Dream Chair Bidzina Ivanishvili. ‘It’s a slap into the face of so

bust of Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi. (on.ge)

2019 Georgia Club Raids

Gakharia faces criticism on anniversary of Bassiani club raids

by OC Media

•4 min read

Georgian drug policy reform advocates have marked the anniversary of police raids on night clubs Bassiani and Café Gallery in the capital Tbilisi. Recently formed advocacy group 12 May, named after the night of the raids, draped banners over bridges and on public spots in Tbilisi bearing anti-government messages. These included references to the raids, the country’s harsh drug policies, as well as ironic references to their environmental policy, alleged control over the media, and scandals

Police facing off with far-right counter-rally (Dato Parulava /OC Media)

2019 Georgia Club Raids

Interior minister apologises over Tbilisi nightclub raids as far-right groups plan daily protests

by OC Media

•8 min read

Georgia’s Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia has apologised over police raids on two popular nightclubs in Tbilisi. Gakharia met with protest leaders during a rally in front of Tbilisi’s parliament building on Sunday evening. Far-right groups, who have been holding counter-demonstrations against ‘drug dealers and LGBT propagandists’ vowed to continue to protest. Thousands of protesters had been demanding Gakharia and Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili resign following the raids on the Ba

Protest on 12 May (Dato Parulava /OC Media)

2019 Georgia Club Raids

Public Defender: alleged drug dealers arrested before Tbilisi nightclub raids

by OC Media

•4 min read

Thousands of people rallied on 12 May against the nightclub raids and police violence, demanding the PM and Interior Minister’s resignations. The rally in front of Tbilisi’s parliament building followed a police raid on popular nightclubs Bassiani and Café Gallery. According to Public Defender Nino Lomjaria, the eight arrested drug dealers were apprehended before the raids, not in the course of them as previously assumed. [Read more about the raids on OC Media: Eight arrested in ‘anti-dru

Police arresting peopel during clashes in front of Bassiani club (Mari Nikuradze /OC Media)

2019 Georgia Club Raids

Eight arrested in ‘anti-drug’ raids on Tbilisi nightclubs

by OC Media

•3 min read

Masked police raided two popular Tbilisi nightclubs, Bassiani and Café Gallery under the pretence of detaining drug traffickers on the night of 11 May. Police forcibly removed club-goers from the venues and clashes ensued. According to the Interior Ministry’s statement, eight suspected drug traffickers aged 21–30 were arrested following three-month-long ‘intensive investigative activities’ in several Tbilisi nightclubs. More people were detained in the aftermath of the raids, including dr