Georgian Parliament’s Anti-gay Bills Instill Fear in Activists | REUTERS

Jun 28, 2024 | Georgian parliament approved anti-gay bills which will ban non-heterosexual people from adopting children and prevent people from changing their gender on ID documents. It will also include a ban on public gatherings promoting same-sex relationships.

Verwandtes Video auf Deutsch hier.

A Protester Self-immolates Outside the Israeli Consulate in Atlanta.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: A security guard tried to intervene but was unsuccessful, officials said.

A protester self-immolated on Friday afternoon outside of the Israeli Consulate building in Atlanta, in what the police described as “likely an extreme act of political protest.”

A security guard tried to intervene but was unsuccessful, officials said. The demonstrator sustained third-degree burns to the body, and the guard was burned on his wrist and leg. Both were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where the protester was in critical condition. » | Colbi Edmonds | Published: Friday, December 1, 2023; updated: Saturday, December 2, 2023

Being Queer in Putin's Shadow

Sep 14, 2023 | Russian exiles have fled Putin's harsh anti-LGBTQI+ laws. But will they find a safe haven in neighbouring Georgia? Or will Putin's conservative crackdown follow them?

Trump Has ‘Moral Compass of an Axe Murderer,’ Says Georgia Republican

THE GUARDIAN: Former lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan describes Trump’s roster of wrongdoing as ‘like some sort of Ponzi scheme of lies’

Geoff Duncan, the former Georgia lieutenant governor, in Atlanta earlier this month.Photograph: Robin Rayne/Zuma/Shutterstock
Donald Trump has “the moral compass of an axe murderer”, a Republican opponent in Georgia said, discussing the former president’s legal predicament in the southern US state and elsewhere but also his continuing dominance of the presidential primary.

“As Republicans, that dashboard is going off with lights and bells and whistles, telling us all the warning things we need to know,” Geoff Duncan told CNN on Monday.

“Ninety-one indictments,” Duncan said. “Fake Republican, a trillion dollars’ worth of debt [from his time in the White House], everything we need to see to not choose him as our nominee, including the fact that he’s got the moral compass of a … more like an axe murderer than a president.

“We need to do something right here, right now. This is either our pivot point or our last gasp as Republicans.” » | Martin Pengelly in Washington | Tuesday, August 29, 2023

Trump and 18 Co-defendants to Be Booked in Georgia Jail

THE GUARDIAN: Ex-president and co-defendants, including Giuliani, can ‘turn themselves in at any time’, sheriff’s office says

People gather near a courthouse in Washington DC as Trump is set to face a judge, on 3 August. Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Donald Trump and the 18 co-defendants charged with racketeering and crimes for conspiring to subvert the 2020 presidential election in a “criminal enterprise” are set to be booked at a jail in Fulton county, Georgia, the local sheriff’s office said on Tuesday.

The grand jury has issued arrest warrants for all 19 defendants, said Fani Willis, the district attorney, during a news conference after she delivered a sweeping 41-count indictment late Monday night. Defendants have until 25 August to surrender voluntarily, after which they can expect to be arrested.

Trump and his co-defendants, including Rudy Giuliani, an attorney for the ex-president and former New York City mayor, and Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff, can “turn themselves in at any time” since the jail is open 24/7, the sheriff’s office said.

But the sheriff’s office added that “due to the unprecedented nature of this case, some circumstances may change with little or no warning”. » | Mary Yang | Thursday, August 17, 2023

Donald Trump Given Ten Days to ‘Surrender’ to Authorities in Georgia

Aug 15, 2023 | Donald Trump now has ten days to turn himself in - after a court in Georgia accused him and 18 others of attempting to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election there - in other words, "knowingly and willingly joining a conspiracy" to subvert the will of voters. Mr Trump has described the charges as a witch hunt - claiming he would be completely exonerated. But this is one case in which he cannot pardon himself - even if he's elected president.

I hope the prison authorities are gussying up that cell for him - post-haste. – Mark

Verfahren in Georgia: Für ihn fast schon Routine

ZEIT ONLINE: Donald Trump wird nun wegen Fälschung und Wahlbehinderung angeklagt. Das erhält weniger Aufmerksamkeit als die bisherigen Klagen, doch es könnte ihm gefährlicher werden.

Der ehemalige US-Präsident Donald Trump © Charlie Neibergall/AP/dpa
Nur einen kurzen Moment lang war das Dokument am Montagnachmittag auf der Website des Gerichts zu sehen. Aber es reichte, dass die Nachrichtenagentur Reuters einen Blick darauf werfen konnte. Aus diesem Dokument war bereits herauszulesen, was in der Nacht zum Dienstag offiziell wurde: Die nächste Anklage gegen Donald Trump ist da, diesmal im Bezirk Fulton County. Dort liegt Atlanta, die Hauptstadt von Georgia.

Verstöße gegen die Korruptionsgesetze des Bundesstaats, Aufforderung eines Amtsträgers zur Eidverletzung, Verschwörung zur Einreichung gefälschter Dokumente: Erneut geht es um Trumps Versuch, den Wahlsieg Joe Bidens 2020 zu untergraben. Georgia war einer der Bundesstaaten, dem Trump und seine Leute besonders viel Aufmerksamkeit zukommen ließen. Hier war der Vorsprung des Herausforderers Joe Biden knapp. Am Ende gewann Biden mit knapp 12.000 Stimmen Vorsprung. Trump wollte das nicht hinnehmen, um selbst an der Macht zu bleiben. » |Eine Analyse von Johanna Roth, Washington, D. C. | Dienstag, 15. August 2023


Related articles.

Donald Trump and Allies Indicted in Georgia over Bid to Reverse 2020 Election Loss

THE GUARDIAN: Ex-president is defendant in fourth criminal case as 41-count indictment accuses him of planning criminal enterprise

Donald Trump and 18 others indicted in Georgia for trying to overturn 2020 election – video
Donald Trump and some of his closest confidantes have been indicted on state racketeering and conspiracy charges over efforts to reverse Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election in Georgia. This indictment makes the former US president a criminal defendant in a fourth case as he campaigns to recapture the presidency.

The sprawling 41-count indictment, handed down by a state grand jury in Atlanta late on Monday night, charges Trump himself with 13 counts and accuses him of orchestrating a criminal enterprise.

In addition to Trump, prosecutors in the office of the Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis charged 18 other defendants, including his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows as well as his 2020 election lawyers Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis and Kenneth Chesebro. » | Hugo Lowell and Jewel Wicker in Atlanta, Georgia | Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Donald Trump election interference. Follow live here.

Full text of indictment here.

Trump’s Georgia charges are a win for voting rights leaders: Victory heralded as a landmark achievement for Democrats, particularly the Black voters who make up much of the party’s base »

What is Trump charged with in Georgia and what is the case about?: Trump and his allies made an aggressive push to invalidate the election results in Georgia as part of an effort to overturn results »

Trump Indicted in Georgia – Prosecutors Accuse Trump of ‘Criminal Enterprise’ to Overturn Election: A grand jury indicted the former president and 18 allies, including Rudolph W. Giuliani and Mark Meadows, with multiple crimes related to a conspiracy to subvert the will of voters. »

Mark Meadows, Trump’s Chief of Staff, Is a Key Figure in Georgia Election Case: The former White House chief of staff was a central player in the efforts to keep Trump in power after the 2020 election. »

Giuliani Targeted in Trump Election Case. What Role Did He Play?: The former mayor of New York City led the legal efforts in several states to keep Donald Trump in power. »

Donald Trump : en Géorgie, une quatrième inculpation menaçante pour l’ancien président américain : L’homme d’affaires est accusé d’avoir tenté de renverser l’élection présidentielle de 2020. La procureure invoque notamment la loi sur l’extorsion et l’association de malfaiteurs, qui s’applique en général à la criminalité organisée. »

Trump inculpé de tentative de manipulation de la présidentielle 2020 en Géorgie : 41 chefs d'accusation différents sont retenus contre l’ancien président et 18 de ses conseillers, dont «fausses déclarations et faux documents, usurpation de fonction publique, faux et usage de faux», pressions sur des témoins, une série de délits informatiques ou encore parjure. »

Trump und seine „kriminelle Vereinigung“: Für Trumps Anklage wegen Wahlbetrugs in Georgia nutzt die Staatsanwaltschaft ein Gesetz, das bislang für organisierte Kriminalität angewendet wurde. Mit ihm sind 18 weitere Personen angeklagt. Allen drohen hohe Haftstrafen. »

Donald Trump : les principales enquêtes judiciaires qui menacent l’ex-président américain : Plusieurs procédures judiciaires, menées aux niveaux local et fédéral, sont en cours, concernant des manipulations fiscales et électorales. »

Thousands of Anti-LGBTQ+ Protesters Storm Georgia Pride Festival

Jul 9, 2023 | A Pride event in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, was cancelled after up to 2,000 anti-LGBTQ+ protesters stormed the event and destroyed the stage.

Footage showed protesters holding Georgian flags scuffling with police moments before the event was broken up. Organisers accused the authorities of actively colluding with the demonstrators to disrupt the festival, which had been held in private for a second consecutive year to reduce the risk of violent protests. A government minister said it was a difficult event to police as it was held in an open area, near a lake. Georgia has passed laws against discrimination and hate crimes, but LGBTQ+ rights groups say there is a lack of adequate protection by law enforcement officials and homophobia remains widespread in the socially conservative South Caucasus nation.

Gaunt and Ghostly, Georgia’s Jailed Ex-President Nears Death in Hospital

THE OBSERVER: Mikheil Saakashvili warned of Putin’s ambitions 15 years ago. Now he tells of torture by a regime that panders to Moscow

Georgia's jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili is seen via a video link in February during a hearing to consider a request to release him or defer, over health concerns, his six-year sentence for abuse of power. Photograph: Irakli Gedenidze/AP
Locked up in a Tbilisi hospital, Mikheil Saakashvili is slowly wasting away.

“I am asking to be transferred to Poland, as it is crystal clear that in Georgian hospital I will die,” Georgia’s former president wrote in response to questions from the Observer last week. His answers were scrawled in blue ballpoint pen on sheets of paper, passed to his lawyers.

Photographs and video of Saakashvili in hospital show him gaunt and confused. A recent report from independent experts suggested his health has deteriorated severely and he will soon face irreversible organ damage. Since his arrest, he says, his weight has halved to 60kg.

“Your eyes hurt when you look at him, it’s not a person any more but a ghost,” said Giorgi Chaladze, Saakashvili’s lawyer and political ally who regularly visits him in hospital. » | Shaun Walker in Tbilisi | Sunday, April 16, 2023

Russian Deserters in Georgia | DW Documentary

Nov 28, 2022 | In September 2022, Russian President Putin ordered a partial mobilization to deploy more soldiers to Ukraine. But many Russians defied that order and fled the country – as many as half a million to date.

Some 100,000 Russian deserters have fled to Georgia so far. The nation maintains very close, but also rather strained relations with its neighbor - after all the most recent war with Russia wasn’t that long ago. Just how welcome are the deserting Russians? How are they faring in a foreign country after an often-risky journey out of Russia? How are they getting along with the Ukrainian refugees also accepted in large numbers by Georgia? DW reporter Oxana Evdokimova reports from the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

Russians Are Fleeing to the Country Putin Invaded before Ukraine

Apr 16, 2022 • Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, thousands of Russians have left their country, they’re not fleeing the war but their own government. Many are now in neighboring Georgia, a country Russia invaded in 2008 —so as you can imagine— they aren’t the most welcome guests.

Is the Georgian Government Complicit in Alexander Lashkarava's Death? | DW News

Jul 12, 2021 • In Georgia, protesters have been calling for the Prime Minister to resign over the death of a journalist. Alexander Lashkarava worked for an independent TV news channel. He was found dead in his home on Sunday, after being beaten by far-right activists during a protest against an LGBTQI+ Pride march in the capital, Tbilisi. DW spoke to Zura Abashidze, Georgian writer and LGBTQI+ activist, about the incident.

More on this tragic story here

Georgian Cameraman Dies after Attack by Far-right, Anti-LGBTQ Mob

Alexander Lashkarava, 37, sustained fractures to his facial bones after being attacked last Monday. Photograph: Tv Pirveli/Reuters (R.I.P.)
THE GUARDIAN: Government accused of ‘culpable passivity’ after dozens of journalists were attacked covering Pride protest

A Georgian TV cameraman has died after being badly beaten by far-right assailants during a protest against an LGBTQ Pride march, his station said on Sunday, as pressure mounts on authorities over attacks on journalists.

Alexander Lashkarava, a 37-year-old cameraman working for the independent station TV Pirveli, was found dead in his bed in the early hours on Sunday, the channel reported.

Last Monday he was assaulted by a violent mob of anti-LGBTQ protesters and sustained fractures to his facial bones.

More than 50 journalists were attacked that day by anti-LGBTQ groups protesting against the planned Pride march in Tbilisi, which was cancelled due to safety fears. » | Agence France-Presse in Tbilisi | Sunday, July 11, 2021

Georgia Pastor's Mind Blown by European Atheists

A Finnish television network recently filmed a Southern Baptist pastor as he visited secular Nordic countries and struggled to come to grips with widespread LGBT rights and atheism.

US Mosques Receive Hate Mail

At least six mosques in the US states of California and Georgia have received letters attacking Muslims.

Included in the hate mail is a prediction that President-elect Donald Trump will ethnically cleanse Muslims from the US.

Georgia: Orthodox Priests Snub Pope Visit

Pope Francis is in Georgia to mend relations between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, who have been divided for almost 1,000 years.

Pope Francis Prays for Peace alongside Syro-Chaldean Catholics in Georgia

Pope Francis Talks of Peaceful Co-existence in Caucasus Region

Pope Francis starts his visit in Georgia for what has been billed as a mission of peace in the volatile Caucasus region that will also take him to Azerbaijan just months after he visited arch-foe Armenia. In a speech, Pope Francis stresses the importance of the "peaceful coexistence among all peoples and states in the region."

Georgia's Mikheil Saakashvili Faces the Vengeance of His Rivals

Mikheil Saakashvili

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Mikheil Saakashvili was once the centre of the world's attention for standing up to Russia, but as Georgia heads to the polls, he faces police questioning, the end of his political career and an uncertain future

For a few days at the height of summer in 2008, one of the youngest heads of state in the world stood at the epicentre of a grave international crisis.

President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, then aged just 40, was locked in a confrontation with Russia over the breakaway republic of South Ossetia. He faced a full-scale invasion, with columns of Russian tanks moving down the highway towards to his capital, Tbilisi. For a moment, he became that rarest of politicians – a European leader waging a war on his own soil.

Last week, however, the man who once commanded the world's attention was moving out of the presidential residence and into a modest second floor flat in Tbilisi, the city he once pledged to defend against Russian invaders. As he stood amid a jumble of cardboard boxes in his old home, Mr Saakashvili might have reflected that at the age of 45, he has suffered comprehensive political defeat. » | Damien McElroy, Tbilisi | Saturday, October 26, 2013