Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia, the spiritual leader who led the Georgian Orthodox Church since 1977, has passed away. News of his death at the age of 93 was announced on March 17 from the intensive care unit of the Caucasus Medical Center.

Georgia's former Public Defender, Ucha Nanuashvili, has been summoned to the country's State Security Service (SSS). One of the country's most senior human rights defenders, he now heads the NGO Democracy Research Institute (DRI).

A Maykop court has arrested another teenager allegedly involved in the arson of cell phone equipment. Investigators allege that a group of young people, acting on instructions from an unidentified person, set fire to the cell phone station. Although it was not completely destroyed, it was at risk of being disabled.

Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili accused European leaders of using relations with Georgia as a political tool, leading to the current tensions.