The Public Defender of Georgia, Levan Ioseliani, says the dismissal of civil servants allegedly linked to their publicly expressed political and civic views was one of the most acute human rights issues of 2025.
Presenting his annual Human Rights Report to Parliament on June 23, Ioseliani stressed that dismissing public employees because of their opinions or civic positions is both inadmissible and illegal.
“Given the importance of the principle of equality, it is inadmissible and illegal to dismiss civil servants due to their openly expressed civic positions or opinions, or to give them any instructions regarding leaving the position they hold of their own free will,” Ioseliani said.
The Ombudsman noted that freedom of expression applies in the workplace and that any personnel decision must comply with constitutional guarantees protecting this right.
Since late 2024, dozens of civil servants have reported being dismissed after publicly criticizing government policies or supporting pro-European protests.
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