The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, has made public a previously confidential communication sent to the Government of Georgia concerning administrative charges brought against several human rights defenders and civil society organizations. The letter, dated 24 July 2025, remained confidential for 60 days to allow the Georgian authorities time to respond. As Lawlor stated, no reply was received.
In her public statement, Lawlor mentioned that the correspondence addressed legal and administrative harassment targeting defenders, including Women Human Rights Defender Baia Pataraia. “I wrote to the Government of Georgia about the administrative charges against human rights defenders, including WHRD Baia Pataraia, and the legal and administrative harassment of CSOs. Sadly, the Government did not respond,” she said.
The communication, also signed by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression and the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and association, raises concerns about the application of Article 173 of Georgia’s Administrative Offenses Code. The provision, introduced on 6 February 2025, has come under scrutiny for its use against critics of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
The letter, dated 11 June 2025, twenty activists, journalists and politicians were summoned for court hearings the following day, accused of insulting members of the Georgian Dream party in Facebook posts. Among them was Baia Pataraia whose lawyer was informed she had been charged under Article 173. The UN experts warned that using this provision to penalize social media expression poses a serious threat to human rights defenders and journalists.
The Special Rapporteurs stated that any future response from the Georgian government will be published on the UN Special Procedures communications database.
