Page 9 - GEORptDec17

his security team and five other Georgian citizens kidnapped and deported from Ukraine.
One of those kidnapped, journalist Tamz Shavhishvili, told Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) that he was severely beaten by the Ukrainian security service (SBU) on November 14, tied up and kidnapped. An SBU representative denied the allegation.
Saakashvili left his home country for Ukraine in 2014, after serving two terms as president. He was stripped of his Georgian citizenship upon acquiring a Ukrainian passport. Initially, his stay in Ukraine was meant to provide support for his former university friend, President Petro Poroshenko. Saakashvili spearheaded reforms in the Odessa region. However, Saakashvili has become increasingly critical of Poroshenko in recent months. After quitting his position as governor of Odessa, he found himself a stateless citizen this summer when he was stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship as well during a trip to the US.
He managed to return to Ukraine, where he has remained very politically active, this time as an opposition leader.
It was in a Facebook post that Saakashvili accused the SBU of politically targeting his staff for deportation. SBU refuted the claims, saying that it had acted in compliance with the law.
2.6 Politics - misc
The Georgian Constitutional Court has struck down a law requiring a doctor's prescription for the use of marijuana. Drug advocates described the move as amounting to a victory in the fight to decriminalise the substance, Democracy & Freedom Watch (DFWatch) reported on November 30. A conservative Christian Orthodox country, Georgia has trailed behind Western Europe and North America in some aspect of democratic governance, such as LGBTQ rights. However, in other areas, such as the incorporation of new technologies in political governance systems in order to increase transparency, the country has been a pioneer. That the country would now move to decriminalise marijuana for recreational purposes is a bold move unprecedented in the region, where drug possession can result in long jail sentences for those caught and autocratic regimes customarily plant drugs on critics as an excuse to jail them. The Georgian Constitutional Court ruled on November 30 that choosing "the desired kind of relaxation, including marijuana, represents the sphere protected by personal autonomy", but restricted use of the substance to "achieve legitimate ends" because "marijuana may be harmful to human health". The lawsuit was initiated by a libertarian political party, Girchi. The plaintiff - the Georgian state - insisted that marijuana endangered public safety. However, according to the verdict, the state failed to substantiate its claims with scientific studies or "life experiences".
Akhmed Chatayev, a Russian citizen, and his associates are believed to be the suspected terrorists that prompted a shootout in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on November 21, according to civil.ge. The incident resulted in the deaths of three suspected terrorists and one police officer and the injuring of four other officers. A night of gunfire exchanges and grenade detonations left the residents of Tbilisi anxious and searching for explanations.
9 GEORGIA Country Report December 2017 www.intellinews.com