Day: December 23, 2025

D’ART Gallery is a new platform for art, culture, and creative dialogue. By bringing together Azerbaijan’s historical artistic heritage with contemporary art, the gallery offers art lovers a unique journey across time, styles, and artistic perspectives. At the same time, its core mission is to support artists, attract collectors, and present Azerbaijani art to an international audience.

De facto authorities in Russia-occupied Tskhinvali have arrested Tamar Mearakishvili, an Akhalgori-based Georgian civic activist and a Georgian citizen, accusing her of “espionage.”

The Georgian State Security Service told Civil.ge Tskhinvali confirmed the arrest of Mearakishvili, “a Georgian citizen permanently residing in the occupied territory,” adding “intensive communication” is underway on the issue.

RES, a media outlet run by de facto authorities, reported late on December 22 that Tskhinvali’s de facto prosecutors opened a criminal probe against a Georgian citizen under Article 276 of the Russian criminal code, which covers espionage.

“According to the investigation, a Georgian citizen staying in South Ossetia collected and transmitted information about strategically important objects in the republic, thereby threatening the country’s security,” RES reported.

While the media report did not specify the name, human rights advocates in Tbilisi confirmed Mearakishvili’s detention.

“Illegal actions against Tamar Mearakishvili have continued for years by the local regime,” Ucha Nanuashvili, former Georgian Public Defender, wrote on Facebook, noting that “persecution of critical citizens is reaching new levels in the region.”

Nanuashvili called on Tbilisi and the international community to “urgently” start working to free Mearakishvili.

Mearakishvili, an outspoken civic activist who in the past has also worked as a journalist for different media outlets, has faced arrest and prosecution before. She was briefly detained in 2017, accused of spreading defamatory information against local de facto authorities, and later also prosecuted on allegations of fabricating official documents by claiming “South Ossetian” citizenship without renouncing Georgian citizenship.

In 2019, however, a court in Akhalgori lifted charges against her.

Also Read:

• 05/10/2025 – Sokhumi Detains Georgian National in Gali on ‘Espionage’ Charges
• 09/04/2020 – Amnesty Int’l: Tskhinvali Authorities Must Stop Persecuting Outspoken Journalists

The Kyiv city council has decided to dismantle 15 monuments and other memorials associated with the history and symbolism of the Russian monarchy and the Soviet Union.

US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a new class of battleships bearing his name puts a fresh spotlight on a US naval shipbuilding program that has fallen short on delivering the new warships on time and on budget in recent years, something Trump himself pointed out in his speech from Mar-a-Lago on Monday.

In Ashgabat, a presentation ceremony has been held for the book “The Jewel of Wisdom” by Chairman of the People’s Council of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, translated into Azerbaijani by the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, Azernews reports.

There were air raid sirens in Kyiv, while Poland scrambled its air force in response to the Russian attacks.