Georgian Dream only remembers children when they need to stage Christmas celebrations. When young people are being beaten and tortured under their leadership, their concern for children suddenly disappears. 19yo Irakli Miminoshvili, 34yo Insaf Aliyev, 24yo Tornike Goshadze, 20yo Giorgi Giorgadze, and 20yo Nikoloz Javakhishvili are behind bars.

"Today, the Georgian Parliament no longer exists, and whether it is the Georgian Parliament or the ruling party, one party has ripped up the Constitution", President @Zourabichvili_S addressed the Georgian people. "All these parliamentarians who were sitting today with frozen faces, they know that they are the result of rigged elections, because they know that they will be locked in this hall for a few months, if not a few weeks, where none of them have any rights. "I am surprised that Georgia is where people greet each other as we saw the footage today, which is really shameful and will go down in history as a shameful footage of people greeting or kneeling"

Full statement of @Zourabichvili_S:

Key points:

1. President declares Georgian parliamentary elections illegitimate
2. New elections demanded: Free and fair elections under new elections administration and electoral procedures adjusted under OSCE/ODIHR recommendations
3. Current parliament and government remains, the government must ensure stability during the crisis resolution period.
4. Tomorrow, two constitutional appeals will be submitted regarding violations of voting secrecy and universality by the President
5. Protests remain, calls have been made to students and citizens overall
6. Political parties must be involved in the processes
7. International partners should help the country in crisis resolution, including with international investigation In short: As the President elected by the people and the sole independent institution, I must address the troubling reality of these elections. Fundamental constitutional principles and international law standards were violated, stripping citizens of their basic rights. The secrecy and universality of the vote—pillars of a free and fair democratic process—were blatantly disregarded.

BREAKING: President @Zourabichvili_S announces that she does not recognize the elections results and call the people to join her. Zurabishvili asks people to join the protest at Rustaveli tomorrow at 7PM.

President tells the Georgian people that they won these elections, and nobody has the right to take that away from us. This was outright election fraud—a complete theft of votes, a Russian special operation, a new form of hybrid aggression by Russia. They deprived us of the right to elections; they stole the institution of elections, she said. More below. “There were so many violations that it was impossible to detect them all. We witnessed something very unusual: this was a total falsification, a total stealing of votes, using all the tricks that can be used to falsify elections, and on top of that – the use of modern technologies to whitewash the elections”

Ballot casting at the 69th precinct in Marneuli, our observer was assaulted for recording this. Beaten up observer:

Dear friends, supporters, and watchers of Georgia,

Tomorrow, Sakartvelo will witness the most important day in its independent history. The elections will determine the decades to come, deciding whether Georgia remains a pro-Western democratic state or becomes a vassal of Russia. Bear with me as I walk you through the existential significance of the events unfolding before our eyes, and please spread the word.

You will often hear the terms "unprecedented" and “existential" regarding our elections. This reflects the unbreakable spirit of Georgian citizens who know what it means to protect their homeland and fight for freedom, sovereignty, democracy, and a European future. We know what it means to have Russian bombs fall on our heads; we know what it means to be punished for self-determination, for choosing democracy and integration into the EU and NATO. We understand that our security and prosperity will be guaranteed only by joining Western structures. Today, all of the above are at stake.

BREAKING: The houses of @EtoBuziashvili and @SGelava, researchers at the Atlantic Council’s @DFRLab, are being searched. The Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance has entered Eto’s apartment, and devices at Sopo’s home are being seized. The “investigation” is underway under three articles, just two days before Georgia’s parliamentary elections.
"They arrived around 8 o'clock in the morning. They did not inform me that they were from the financial police; instead, they claimed to be from the gas inspection service and said there was a leak issue. About six people rushed in and immediately began searching. They took my phone and did not allow me to contact a lawyer. They were particularly interested in documentation and technology, this was their motive. The search lasted for about two hours." @EtoBuziashvili told @FormulaGe

Today Georgian Dream party put up new election banners in Tbilisi.

On the left, it shows an image of the bombed Mariupol Theatre with the opposition's election numbers and the message "No to War."

On the right, it shows the Theatre in Senaki with the message "Choose Peace." Photo was published by Irakli Iremadze: facebook.com/photo/?fbid=87…

🧵Our joint investigation with @OCCRP found Georgia's Oligarch, Bidzina Ivanishvili's family's previously unreported real estate in the elite settlements outside Moscow.

The investigation's findings contradict Bidzina Ivanishvili's 2011 promise to cut all ties with Russia. The investigation refers to two private residential houses situated in two prestigious Moscow districts, Sokol and Odintsovo. One of these properties includes a yard spanning 52,749 sq.m., comprising nine adjacent plots of land.

Investigation: occrp.org/en/37-ccblog/c…

The choice between Peace and War — Georgian Dream opens its election campaign 🧵

Yesterday the party founder and Georgia's richest man, also known as the Russian oligarch, Bidzina Ivanishvili, delivered another Orwellian speech at the campaign and brand-new party office opening. Beyond neglecting Georgia's halted EU accession process amid Russian law and the government's increasingly antidemocratic, anti-Western stance, Georgian Dream offered its vision for EU integration: "only with peace, dignity, and prosperity," hinting not on Brussels' terms.

🧵You have all been asking about oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili: Who is he? Is he pro-Russian? What are his connections to Russia? How can a pro-European people have a pro-Russian government?

Our latest study explains the Russian nature of the state capture by the oligarch. Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and "honorary chairman" of Georgia's ruling party Georgian Dream, is an unelected billionaire oligarch who effectively controls the Georgian state. With a $5 billion wealth, equivalent to approx. 20% of Georgia's GDP, he lives a secluded life.

Similar language against @USAID from Baku, Tbilisi and Abkhazia: "Azerbaijan isn't the place of your operations";🇬🇪 government demands a "transparent explanation" from USAID on the "training case"; "Our door will be closed to those who consider Abkhazia as an occupied territory". @USAID Azerbaijan accused the US government of "one-sided approach" and "support for separatism" and refused to receive American diplomats amid @StateEUR's warning no chance of business as usual with Azerbaijan as long as peace agreement.
reuters.com/world/azerbaij…

🧵What do we know about newly US-sanctioned Otar Partskhaladze?

1. Bidzina Ivanishvili's son, Bera Ivanishvili, is a friend of Partskhaladze's son-in-law. Bera is also a godfather of Partskhaladze's grandson. In 2016, Ivanishvili said that Partskhaladze is not his friend, but confirmed Bera's religious connection with Partskhaladze.

2. Ukraine sanctioned Partskhaladze and stated on its "War and Sanctions" website that Partskhaladze is "one of the participants in the oligarchic rule and seizure of the state of Georgia",...
sanctions.nazk.gov.ua/sanction-perso…

When we say noone can resonate to what is happening in Ukraine now, better than Georgians, we mean it. In 2008, the Russian disinformation campaign against Georgia was carried out in the same style as in 2014 and now. The aim was to distort the narrative in a way to open the door For Russian invasion and reduce the West's negative reaction to Moscow's actions. July 19, the first attack on the Georgian cyberspace, the official website of the President of Georgia was down for almost 24 hours as a result of a DdoS attack.