The News in Brief
Georgian official challenges EU criticism over detainees
Tbilisi Mayor and Georgian Dream Secretary-General Kakha Kaladze has rejected criticism in the European Commission’s 2026 Enlargement Report concerning people described as being “arbitrarily detained.”
Kaladze argued that European institutions are aware of the criminal allegations involving those individuals, including accusations that some detainees attacked police with Molotov cocktails. He questioned how similar incidents would be treated by law enforcement and courts in European countries.
According to the mayor, Georgia has witnessed the opposite approach, with some organizations and individuals receiving European financial support allegedly encouraging unrest. He also accused certain foreign diplomats of contributing to the tensions, claiming they failed to condemn violence and, in some cases, supported groups he characterized as extremist.
Kaladze described that alleged involvement as unacceptable and said the public had seen examples of it during periods of political instability.
Prison service disputes claims over Garibashvili visits
Georgia’s Special Penitentiary Service has denied allegations that former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili is being prevented from receiving visitors.
The agency said Garibashvili is being held in a closed-type correctional facility, where regulations allow inmates two long-term visits each year and one short-term visit every month. According to the service, he has already used the visits available under those rules.
Additional visits may be granted as an incentive, but the decision rests with the director of the facility and is not an automatic entitlement, the agency explained. It added that Garibashvili had previously been permitted several such visits.
The penitentiary authorities therefore rejected claims that his visitation rights had been restricted. They also referred to an earlier dispute involving an alleged cancelled visit, saying no additional visit had been formally scheduled at the time and that there was consequently nothing to cancel.
