Georgia: Sidewalk Protest Crackdown Ignites Domestic Debate, Economic Concerns Persist, as International Diplomacy Continues
Today, January 23, 2026, domestic political tensions escalated in Georgia as several individuals faced administrative detention for protesting on sidewalks, sparking widespread condemnation. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili and political leader Giorgi Vashadze, who was himself released today after a 7-month detention and immediately joined a protest on Rustaveli Avenue, criticized the arrests. The European Commission's spokesperson for foreign affairs, Anita Hipper, along with local NGOs like Transparency International Georgia and the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA), deemed the detentions incompatible with democratic principles. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) clarified that arrests were made for obstructing pedestrian movement, not merely for standing.
Economically, the day was marked by discussions on rising food prices and trade. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze held a meeting with distribution companies regarding significant mark-ups on food products, revealing an average mark-up of 86%, with 44% attributed to distribution. Data for 2025 indicated an increase in wine imports and a substantial growth of 9.9% in agro-food exports, reaching over $1.8 billion, with key destinations being Russia, Azerbaijan, and Italy. The official exchange rate saw the US Dollar at 2.6941 GEL.
In infrastructure developments, the Ministry of Infrastructure announced that the completion of the Batumi-Sarpi highway is expected to reduce travel time by 25-30 minutes. The project, including an 8 km tunnel and a 1.47 km bridge over the Chorokhi River, is co-financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the state budget. Meanwhile, Batumi City Hall announced changes to waste collection fee calculations and temporary traffic restrictions on certain streets, while also awarding 236 top athletes for their achievements in 2025.
Internationally, trilateral negotiations reportedly commenced in the United Arab Emirates involving Ukraine, the United States, and Russia. The US Treasury Department expanded sanctions against Iran's "shadow fleet" in response to crackdowns on peaceful demonstrators. European leaders, including Germany's Friedrich Merz and Spain's Pedro Sánchez, expressed reservations about the current format of Donald Trump's proposed "peace council" for Gaza. Ukrainian representative Andriy Sybiha strongly criticized Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's stance on Ukraine's EU accession.
Other notable news included the requirement for nurses and midwives to undergo re-authorization in a state registry, and the National Food Agency recalling certain batches of Picot infant formula due to a potential risk of Cereulide toxin. The Constitutional Court of Georgia rejected a constitutional claim (No. 1494), and the General Prosecutor's Office charged four more individuals in the "fascist group" case involving minors.