Latest news in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, summary. Live

● Notable journalist Mzia Amaglobeli, founder and director of the publishing group that owns two popular outlets, «Batumelebi» and «NetGazeti», was arrested by police in Batumi on the evening of January 12 during a protest outside the police department building. She faces charges under Article 353 of the criminal code, “assault on a police officer,” which she strongly denies. The article carries a prison sentence of 4 to 7 years. Read more here.

● Another journalist from «Batumelebi», operator and photographer Guram Murvanidze, was arrested near the Constitutional Court in Batumi. According to the newspaper, he was detained while covering the rally and filming a report.

● The arrests of journalists led to thousands taking to the streets of Batumi, resulting in clashes with police. Police Chief of the Adjara region, Irakli Dghebuadze, reported that eight people were arrested at the Batumi protest, all for administrative violations. Watch video coverage here.

● Thousands of journalists and citizens participated in a rally outside the government building in Tbilisi, protesting the arrest of Mzia Amaglobeli. Protesters claimed that the detention and prosecution of the journalist was a premeditated provocation. The first time she was arrested was for attaching a placard calling for a nationwide strike on January 15. In Tbilisi, participants attempted to stick dozens of such placards to the government building. Police resisted, leading to clashes. Here is the video report.

● A large-scale protest took place on the evening of January 12 outside the restaurant «Bibilo» on the outskirts of Tbilisi. In this restaurant on Beliashvili Street, judges gathered for a corporate dinner, and thousands arrived to protest the detention of over 30 participants of ongoing pro-European protests in Georgia. Judges were escorted out of the restaurant by special forces. Read and watch more here.

● U.S. Congressman Republican, head of the Helsinki Commission Joe Wilson reacted to the violent arrests of peaceful protesters in Batumi and Tbilisi. “Videos emerging of brutal arbitrary arrests, including of opposition leaders, being made by the desperate Ivanishvili regime. This tyrannical and illegitimate regime cannot silence its people. There will be devastating consequences for these criminals,” Wilson wrote on X.

● The investigative portal VSquare writes that Arpad Habon, adviser to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and official campaign strategist, frequently visits Georgia, particularly Tbilisi, where he acts as an advisor to the Georgian Dream government. The portal reports that Habon attempted to establish personal relations between oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, often referred to as the shadow ruler of Georgia, and U.S. President Donald Trump. However, the project failed after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Antal Rogan, a high-ranking Hungarian official and minister in Orban’s government, and included him on the Magnitsky list for corruption and human rights violations.

● A video from Abu Dhabi is widely circulating on social media. While there, Georgian citizens spotted several representatives of the Georgian Dream party—MPs Irakli Zarkua, Viktor Sanikidze, Gocha Enukidze, party member Gela Samkharadze, and former Minister of Education Giorgi Amilakhvari—at a local café. They called them “traitors and betrayers of the homeland.” “How can you sit here when journalists were arrested and protesters beaten in Georgia yesterday?” the video recorder asks. Irakli Zarkua responds with insults. See video below

● This morning, 39 Azerbaijani families (165 people), who were previously displaced, returned to their hometown of Jabrayil (which came under Azerbaijani control after the second Nagorno-Karabakh war in the fall of 2020). Currently, 1,334 people (326 families) are living in Jabrayil.

● Azerbaijan ranks 60th in the world for military strength in the annual ranking by the military-focused Global Firepower portal. The list includes 145 countries, with the USA, Russia, and China taking the top three spots. Armenia is ranked 91st, and Georgia 94th.

● Azerbaijan will host the 2026 World Sumo Championship.

● The Baku Zoo now has its own Simba. A five-year-old lion was brought to Baku as part of an international exchange with the Almaty Zoo.

● Armenia is considering appealing to the OSCE regarding the dissolution of the Minsk Group, said the press secretary of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Nazeli Baghdasaryan announced this on social media, adding that Armenia recognizes Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and expects the same in return.

● The European Commission intends to study the legislative initiative by pro-Western forces in Armenia to start the process of the country’s accession to the European Union and plans to discuss it with Yerevan, said the spokesperson for the European External Action Service, Anitta Hipper.

● More than 1,400 citizens in Armenia have been affected by cybercriminal activities, and a criminal case has been opened, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office. The damage to affected citizens amounted to about $2.1 million. The state suffered from tax evasion amounting to over $320,000 in dram equivalents. Armenian citizens and foreigners called people abroad, offering them “profitable investments.” Many unsuspecting internet users were also drawn in by advertisements for fake websites.

● Armenia’s futsal national team goalkeeper and Spanish club Palma’s Luan Müller has won the title of Best Goalkeeper of the World for 2024 at the prestigious Futsalplanet Awards ceremony (pictured).

Top stories in Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia from 31 December 2024 – 10 January, 2025