OC Media brings you the latest news, commentary, multimedia, and investigations from north and south of the Caucasus, with in-depth analysis of the issues, movements, conflicts and people shaping the region.
Latest posts by OC Media
Blood and democracy: the fight for animal rights in Azerbaijan
In Azerbaijan, animal rights activists are protesting the culling of strays in the face of legal challenges and police brutality.
A Georgian neo-Nazi group finds a home on YouTube
A prominent Georgian neo-Nazi group, Georgian National Unity, has reemerged online months after their self-described "commander," Giga Chelidze was released from prison.
In Georgia, veteran journalist sentenced to 3.5 years in jail
Gvaramia was first charged in 2020 with abuse of power, embezzling property at Rustavi 2, commercial bribery, and forging documents. He was found not guilty on the last three counts.
Russian émigrés face chilly reception in Georgia
In Georgia, one of the popular destinations for feeling Russians, the influx of the country's new residents has been met with less enthusiasm.
Twenty far-right activists convicted over July 5 attack on journalists
Tbilisi City Court has convicted 20 far-right activists for the attacks on at least 53 media workers and others during the aborted Pride March in Tbilisi on 5 July 2021.
Silent and uneasy: Armenia’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine
In Armenia, people have found themselves lost between deep-seated feelings of trauma and apathy.
Georgia hurriedly applies for membership in the European Union
The move follows Ukraine’s decision to apply for EU membership on Monday, February 28, amidst the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.
Georgians rally in support of Ukraine as MPs scramble for response
Thousands of people have taken to the streets of the Georgian capital Tbilisi to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Armenian president resigns amid dual-citizenship scandal
The former president criticized the limited powers of the presidential office and decried attacks on the presidential office from "various political groups."
Georgian PM gifted his wife part of a state-owned forest
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili has come under fire after the government leased almost 6,000 square meters of publicly owned forest in the resort town of Bakuriani to his wife.
Top human rights court finds that the Georgia government violated the European Convention on Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights has found the Georgian government responsible for "unprecedented" violence against queer demonstrators in 2013. The court ordered the government to pay EUR 195,000 to the victims.
The International Court of Justice orders Armenia and Azerbaijan to prevent racial hatred
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), ordered Armenia and Azerbaijan to “prevent the incitement and promotion of racial hatred” following last year's 44-day war.
Georgian authorities fail to produce autopsy five months after journalist’s death
The authorities in Georgia have failed to produce the results of an autopsy into the death of TV Pirveli camera operator Aleksandre (Lekso) Lashkarava.
Georgian Communications Commission levies fines on TV channels for ‘political’ content
The Georgian National Communications Commission has fined several TV stations for airing "political" content outside of an electoral campaign period. Some have criticised the fines as disproportionate towards opposition-leaning channels.
The ignored, unwanted, and unforgiven
On November 8, the Victory Day celebration, new annual holiday that commemorates Azerbaijan’s victory in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, a crowd in downtown Baku was filmed cheering as they burned Armenian flags.
The EU and Armenia, partners in reform?
Recent promises of multi-billion-euro investments in Armenia by the European Union signal a deepening relationship between Yerevan and Brussels and renewed EU confidence in the legacy of the 2018 Armenian revolution.
Roundup of Shia figures continues in Azerbaijan
Rustamov is the latest Shia figure targeted by the authorities in an apparent roundup of prominent Shia figures in the country.
Thousands rally in Tbilisi demanding freedom for imprisoned former president
Thousands of people gathered in Tbilisi on October 14, in support of former president Mikheil Saakashvili, who is on his 14th day of a hunger strike in prison.
Fake vaccine passport scandal revealed in Armenia
Authorities estimate that over 700 people bought the fake vaccine certificates from healthcare workers in Gyumri — Armenia’s second-largest city.
Georgian-Belarusian security cooperation deal worries political emigres in Georgia
A year after disputed presidential elections in Belarus, a Georgian-Belarusian security cooperation agreement has come into force. Critics fear the treaty could help Minsk target political dissidents residing in Georgia.
Azerbaijani experts debate causes of recent escalation
With violence between Armenia and Azerbaijan spiking, Azerbaijani experts are debating the causes behind the recent escalation, who benefits, and what happens next.
