"They won't silence us' Activist's vow after ambush and beating
The Guardian Weekly|July 05, 2024
Opposition is pinning its hopes on parliamentary elections in October, amid attacks on government critics
Pjotr Sauer
"They won't silence us' Activist's vow after ambush and beating

Zuka Berdzenishvili's face was a canvas of rainbow colours, his piercing blue eyes partly bloodstained above a pronounced purple bruise.

Berdzenishvili, a prominent activist and co-founder of the Georgian pro-democracy movement Shame, was ambushed and beaten outside his house last month by a group of unknown assailants.

"I got lucky. I had just arrived home on my scooter and was still wearing a helmet when they started beating me. Without it, my brain would have turned to soup,' he said, speaking outside the Georgian parliament in central Tbilisi, where a month earlier the ruling Georgian Dream party passed a controversial "foreign agents" law that brought hundreds of thousands of people into the streets in protest.

The law has also derailed Georgia's long-held EU aspirations in favour of closer ties with Moscow. Mass protests in the country have largely faded away since it was passed.

Meanwhile, the Georgian government is doubling down on its anti-western shift before parliamentary elections in October, openly casting critics as traitors and accused of orchestrating violence against them.

More than a dozen NGO workers, opposition politicians and activists have been targeted by unidentified gangs, which are widely believed to have links to the government.

Berdzenishvili's attack came just after the speaker of Georgia's parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, accused him and other activists in a Facebook post of engaging in "politically motivated terror" sponsored by the EU.

Bu hikaye The Guardian Weekly dergisinin July 05, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye The Guardian Weekly dergisinin July 05, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
If kids get protected from online harm, how about the rest of us?
The Guardian Weekly

If kids get protected from online harm, how about the rest of us?

The Australian government has proposed a ban on social media for all citizens under 16.

time-read
3 dak  |
November 29, 2024
'It's not drought - it's looting'
The Guardian Weekly

'It's not drought - it's looting'

Spain is increasingly either parched or flooded - and one group is profiting from these extremes: the thirsty multinational companies forcing angry citizens to pay for water in bottles.

time-read
10+ dak  |
November 29, 2024
Life in the grey Zone
The Guardian Weekly

Life in the grey Zone

Neonatal care has advanced so far that babies born as early as 21 weeks have survived. But is this type of care always the right thing to do?

time-read
10+ dak  |
November 29, 2024
Out of tune? Band Aid under fire for Africa tropes as it turns 40
The Guardian Weekly

Out of tune? Band Aid under fire for Africa tropes as it turns 40

Forty years ago this month, a group of pop stars gathered at a west London studio to record a single that would raise millions, inspire further starry projects, and ultimately change charity fundraising in the UK.

time-read
3 dak  |
November 29, 2024
Deaths shine spotlight on risks of drinking on party trail
The Guardian Weekly

Deaths shine spotlight on risks of drinking on party trail

Vang Vieng is an unlikely party hub. Surrounded by striking limestone mountains and caves in central Laos, it morphed from a small farming town to a hedonistic tourist destination in the early 2000s.

time-read
3 dak  |
November 29, 2024
Different strokes My strange and emotional week with an AI pet
The Guardian Weekly

Different strokes My strange and emotional week with an AI pet

Moflin can develop a personality and build a rapport with its owner - and doesn't need food or exercise. But is it comforting or alienating?

time-read
5 dak  |
November 29, 2024
Strike zone Waking up to the rising threat of lightning
The Guardian Weekly

Strike zone Waking up to the rising threat of lightning

When the Barbados National Archives, home to one of the world's most significant collections of documents from the transatlantic slave trade, reported in June that it had been struck by lightning, it received sympathy and offers of support locally and internationally.

time-read
3 dak  |
November 29, 2024
Cheap pints and sticky carpets: the old-school pub is back
The Guardian Weekly

Cheap pints and sticky carpets: the old-school pub is back

In the Palm Tree pub, east London, barman Alf is taking only cash at the rattling 1960s till.

time-read
3 dak  |
November 29, 2024
Brain gain Can a radical tax scheme convince the country's brightest to stay?
The Guardian Weekly

Brain gain Can a radical tax scheme convince the country's brightest to stay?

In the autumn of 2018, I moved to Lisbon for a month-long course at the Universidade .de Lisboa.

time-read
2 dak  |
November 29, 2024
Fear and sympathy in small town divided over asylum camp
The Guardian Weekly

Fear and sympathy in small town divided over asylum camp

A year after anti-immigration riots, a site for asylum seekers faces hostility while some locals try to help new arrivals

time-read
3 dak  |
November 29, 2024