Six Georgian non-governmental organizations say they have once again been targeted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, which accused them of violating the country’s controversial ‘Law on the Registration of Foreign Agents’ and demanded explanations for their refusal to sign onto the ‘Registry of Foreign Interest Entities.’
The organizations, Civil Society Foundation, Sapari, Transparency International Georgia, Media Development Foundation, ISFED, and Social Justice Center, report that they received new letters from the Bureau on August 11, warning of criminal liability.
“On August 11, six organizations received another letter from the Anti-Corruption Bureau accusing us of violating the so-called ‘Law on the Registration of Foreign Agents,’ threatening us with criminal liability, and requesting explanations as to why we have not registered as agents,” the joint statement reads.
The NGOs reiterated their longstanding position, refusing to register under what they describe as a ‘Russian-style’ law.
“We will not register as entities serving the interests of a foreign country. We are independent Georgian non-governmental organizations operating in accordance with our own statutes. Our mission is to protect the rights of women, children, workers, persons with disabilities, internally displaced persons and all oppressed individuals.”
They stressed that their work includes monitoring elections, exposing corruption and disinformation, defending democracy, and assisting the Georgian people.
The groups say they will send legal documentation to the Anti-Corruption Bureau to demonstrate that they are not required to register under the law, including by the standards of the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) which the Georgian government claims the legislation mirrors.
“Under the standards of the American FARA, which this law supposedly mirrors, we are not required to register in this registry,” they said, adding that they will submit the “corresponding legal documentation to the Ivanishvili-Kuprashvili Bureau.”
The NGOs accused the authorities of following the Kremlin’s playbook.
“In the style of Putin’s Russia, the persecution of independent NGOs and free media aims to dismantle democracy. However, we will continue our work and will not leave the Georgian people without support. We will fight until Georgia becomes the free, democratic, and EU-member state that the Georgian people deserve.”
