Georgia
Georgia’s Human Rights Crisis Deepens Amid Mass Protests
European Union foreign affairs ministers gathering on December 16 to discuss Georgia should call for an independent investigation into the country’s clampdown on peaceful anti-government protests, now in their second week. EU ministers should also sanction officials responsible for violent abuses against protesters.
The heavy-handed government response to protests, amid the country’s political and constitutional crisis, risks plunging Georgia further into a human rights crisis.
Nationwide, tens of thousands are protesting the government’s decision to abandon Georgia’s EU accession. This decision violates Georgia’s constitution, which enshrines full EU integration as a goal for the Georgian state. It also transgresses the will of some 80 percent of Georgia’s population.
The pivot by the government comes one month after disputed October 26 parliamentary elections that kept the country’s ruling party in power, but which local observers and Georgia’s president claimed were marred by massive vote-rigging. It also follows the adoption of repressive legislation targeting civil society and independent media.
The government responded to the protests with teargas, water cannons, and rubber bullets. Police beat, chased down, and detained largely peaceful protesters. Riot police, as well as violent mobs presumably associated with authorities, have beaten opposition media and independent journalists and interfered with media coverage. Several hundred protesters have been arrested on various misdemeanor and criminal charges. Many reported beatings and ill-treatment in detention; dozens required hospitalization.
Despite domestic and international pressure, the government is intensifying the crackdown.
The EU has deplored authorities’ repressive actions, but it’s time for decisive steps. The EU should seek independent investigations into the post-election violence by experts from the Council of Europe and the United Nations, calling on them to examine the unlawful use of force, arbitrary detention, and the mounting evidence of ill-treatment and torture.
Additionally, EU member states should muster the consensus to use the EU’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime to sanction officials responsible for authorizing and carrying out beatings and violence against Georgia’s protesters. The EU should also consider imposing Schengen visa requirements for Georgian government officials and diplomats. Sanctioning authorities should happen in parallel with stepped-up, flexible democracy support for civil society and media.
As the Georgian people look to the EU in their aspirations, EU leaders should show them more than moral support. Concrete and decisive steps are needed to prevent Georgia’s human rights crisis from further escalating.
ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) – A person was found dead in the 5200 block of Radium Springs Road on Saturday morning, according to Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler.
Fowler said the call came in as a water rescue. The body was recovered early Saturday, Feb. 28.
The coroner confirmed the person found was male. His identity and age remain unknown.
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Copyright 2026 WALB. All rights reserved.
ATLANTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – State legislators are considering more changes to Georgia’s voting law, proposing a new bill that would alter the way early voters cast ballots.
State Sen. Greg Dolezal, a Republican from Cumming, introduced SB 568 this week. The proposal would assign early voters to one precinct in their county. Currently, voters can cast early votes at any precinct in their county.
It would also move early voting to a hand-marked paper ballot system, where voters use a pen to mark their selections, instead of the currently used touchscreen system.
“So that we would not have to print so many permutations at the paper ballots, we would assign voters to an early voting location,” said Dolezal. “Most people are going to vote to the at the early voting location closest to their home anyway.”
The bill was immediately met with backlash from democrats as a barrier to the vote.
“I have no idea how voting on a piece of paper, marking it down with your pencil in any way suppresses the vote,” said Dolezal. “For most counties out of, you know, 140 call it out of 159, they just have one location.”
Dolezal’s proposal would also require local clerks to publicly post their entire voting rolls ahead of elections.
“Making public every single voter who is qualified to vote is to some extent, a little bit of an invasion of privacy for each individual voter,” said state Sen. Sonya Halpern (D-Atlanta). “We need to have trust in our election officials to run those elections.”
It’s the latest change the legislature has proposed to Georgia’s voting system.
“You have dirty, dirty voting rolls, you’re going to have dirty elections,” Dolezal said.
The bill would also shift responsibility for voter challenges from the counties to the State Elections Board. In addition, it would also move the threshold for an automatic recount in the state from a 1.5% margin to 2%.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
Georgia
No. 3 Georgia to Host Top-Ranked Auburn for Regular Season Finale – University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia fell at Auburn 14-6 to wrap up the fall slate of their season. The overall record against the Tigers currently stands at 31-31, including a 13-7 record in Bishop.
During their National Championship run in the 2024-25 season, the Mane Dawgs faced off against Auburn on three separate occasions. Georgia was victorious at home, 11-9, before falling on the road, 11-8. In the quarterfinals of the NCEA National Championships in Ocala, the Bulldogs stunned the second-ranked Tigers, 13-4, en route to their eighth National Championship title.
Georgia returns to action following a trip to Blythewood, South Carolina, to take on the third-ranked Gamecocks.
Top-ranked Auburn travels to Bishop after hosting No. 4 SMU at home the prior weekend. The Tigers defeated the Mustangs 13-7 and swept all four MOP honors.
Following the conclusion of the meet, Georgia will honor their seven seniors for their dedication and contributions to the program.
The meet will be streamed on SECN+ at https://gado.gs/e7v, and live scoring will be available at https://gado.gs/e7w.
HOW TO FOLLOW GEORGIA EQUESTRIAN: For complete information on Georgia equestrian, follow the team on its social media channels via @UGAEquestrian on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
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