Tornike Mandaria

🎉 my new portfolio website: tormandaria.com Years of reporting on democratic backsliding, Kremlin-style laws on “foreign agents”, “gay propaganda,” and regional shifts since the Ukraine invasion. Independent journalism in Georgia matters. I’m open to collaborations.

One can only wonder about the tens of thousands of Russians in Georgia

I feel like there are a lot of as-yet-unknown twists to this story - one to keep an eye on. Russian activist held in Poland admits he worked as FSB agent, court papers say theguardian.com/world/2025/nov…

Prison and exile: How Ivanishvili deals with former allies jam-news.net/prison-and-exi…

“To reconcile with injustice is to be buried alive”,- Mzia Amaglobeli, first female jailed journalist in Georgia. theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

#Georgien. Die zu vielen Augen von Tblisi. Von Tornike Mandaria ⁦@Tokmando⁩ In der georgischen Hauptstadt kommt eine beängstigende Überwachungstechnik zum Einsatz. Sie dokumentiert nicht nur, wer auf eine Demonstration geht. ⁦@tazgezwitscher⁩ taz.de/Tagebuch-aus-G…

Currently journalists are protected from being punished solely for refusing to reveal a source. The new bill removes that protection. Meaning if a journalist declines to name a source, it could be enough to lose the case — even if the information is accurate.

Under the draft law, if a journalist is sued for defamation, they must prove the information was true — a reversal of the burden of proof.

Also, Georgia recently withdrew its support for its own candidate, Zurab Pololikashvili, the Secretary-General of the UN World Tourism Organization, in favor of the UAE’s nominee.

Bachiashvili's friends told The Guardian he was in Abu Dhabi to meet a lawyer when he was taken from a hotel lobby by eight local officers, then transferred to Dubai, and flown to Georgia. 4/4

Georgian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili’s former money man, Giorgi Bachiashvili, says he was abducted in the UAE on May 24—blindfolded and put on a plane to Georgia with no legal process. 1/4

Will joins the growing list of Western journalists targeted by Georgia’s repressive regime. Solidarity with you, @willneal93

Fagatta fled to Germany for safety as a queer person. Now, as queer rights erode in Georgia, they face deportation. Written during my IJP fellowship at Germany's leading paper @SZ. sueddeutsche.de/projekte/artik…

📽️ How much have the US and others given in aid to Ukraine? Who's been the most generous? How does it all compare with previous conflicts? And what's with Donald Trump's money-for-minerals deal? All the answers in my primer, this time with bonus extra charts 🤓

If you're going to have an argument about Ukraine on here or on TV please read this ISW factsheet first. - Zelensky does not imminently risk losing all of Ukraine. At the current rate of advance, it would take Russian forces over 83 years to capture the whole of Ukraine. - Ukraine has not suffered millions of losses. US officials have placed the number of Ukrainian military losses between 60,000 and 70,000, but no reputable source places casualty estimates in the millions. The UN confirmed that Russia had killed over 12,000 Ukrainian civilians. - Europe provides about as much direct aid to Ukraine as the United States. Europe has provided and pledged approximately $204.1 billion in all, which is actually slightly more than the US. - Ukraine did not misuse or lose half of the aid the United States has provided. The majority of the funds the United States has allocated for Ukraine stays in the United States to fund domestic defense industrial base and replenish US stockpiles. understandingwar.org/backgrounder/u…

Please, sign the petition and help Mzia Amaghlobeli: A Journalist’s Fight for Freedom chng.it/9JmBdcrMyn

This struggle isn’t new. Earlier this year, our podcast Silenced explored Georgia’s protests and the battle for democracy with @Tokmando. 🎧Listen on Spotify and Apple podcasts: open.spotify.com/episode/0glIYd… podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s2-…

Georgian media is under attack!!