Georgian authorities are using repressive legislation, funding restrictions, and politically motivated criminal investigations to dismantle the country’s independent civil society, based on a new report by Human Rights Watch.
The organization says recently adopted laws place virtually all foreign funding under strict government control, require organizations receiving such funding to carry stigmatizing “foreign agent” labels, and expose activists and independent groups to severe fines and prison sentences.
“The government should repeal these unjustifiable legal measures and allow independent groups to operate free from undue interference. Georgia’s international partners should step up their response by increasing the costs of repression, including through sanctions, and urgently expanding support for independent groups,” the report states.
Human Rights Watch says the measures are part of a broader effort to suppress dissent and weaken independent organizations.
“The Georgian government’s goal has been to suppress critical voices and dismantle the country’s vibrant independent civil society, and it is making frightening progress,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
“The authorities are creating a system in which independent groups cannot operate safely, sustain funding, or support the communities that need and have relied on them,” Williamson added.
