Government’s Actions in 2024 Led to Human Rights Crisis in Georgia, HRW Reports

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its World Report 2025 that Georgia experienced a significant deterioration in human rights throughout 2024, marked by the adoption of repressive legislation and violent responses to peaceful protests and that the Georgian government drove the country toward a human rights crisis. According to HRW’s Executive Director Tirana Hassan, this pattern aligned with global trends where “governments cracked down and wrongfully arrested and imprisoned political opponents, activists, and journalists.”

“The government is relentlessly taking the country into a repressive era that is uncharted for Georgia but all too familiar in authoritarian states,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia Director at Human Rights Watch. He urged the government to “reverse course, drop repressive laws, allow freedom of assembly, stop violence against protesters, and hold police accountable.”

Parliamentary Election

According to the report released on January 16 by the leading international human rights watchdog, a major turning point of human rights deterioration came amid the disputed October 26 parliamentary elections, when the government abandoned Georgia’s EU accession process despite constitutional commitments. The nationwide protests, HRW said were met with harsh police response including tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets. “Riot police and informal violent groups associated with the authorities have beaten opposition and independent journalists and interfered with their work with impunity,” the report read.

“Police beat, chased down, and detained largely peaceful protesters. Violent mobs, presumably associated with authorities, participated in beatings. Several hundred protesters were arrested on misdemeanor and criminal charges. Many reported beatings and ill-treatment in detention; dozens required hospitalization,” the HRW details. 

The organization recommends: “Georgia’s international partners should call for an independent investigation into the government’s violent clampdown on mainly peaceful anti-government protests and consider imposing targeted, individual sanctions against officials responsible for violent abuses against peaceful protesters.” 

Freedom of Expression and Assembly

The controversial Foreign Agents Law adopted in June 2024 imposed what HRW called “onerous, intrusive, and duplicative reporting requirements” on NGOs and media organizations receiving foreign funding. The law requires organizations receiving 20% or more of their funding from abroad to register as “organizations serving the interests of a foreign power” and “allows the authorities to demand sensitive personal data from organizations and individuals.”

Violence against Activists

In the weeks before the Foreign Agents law’s final adoption, HRW says, “civic and political activists became targets of an apparently coordinated campaign of harassment and intimidation.” The report reads: “Hundreds of activists and their family members, including children, received repeated, anonymous threatening phone calls” adding that “smear campaigns of posters in several cities featured the images of nongovernmental group leaders and critical journalists, calling them traitors and enemies.” Additionally, HRW said a series of violent attacks on activists happened between April and June, with law enforcement failing to identify or arrest suspects despite the presence of witnesses and surveillance cameras.

Law Enforcement Abuses and Impunity

HRW notes that tens of thousands of people continued to protest against the Foreign Agents Bill after it was introduced in April. On several occasions, during particularly large demonstrations in front of the parliament building, police used tear gas, water cannon, and pepper spray to disperse the mainly non-violent protesters. The watchdog notes that there were credible reports that police used rubber bullets on at least one occasion on 1 May. HRW further notes that police arrested hundreds of people on minor charges, and courts fined many after perfunctory trials. More than a dozen journalists and media workers were injured by police during the protests.

Gender and Sexuality

The human rights situation further deteriorated with the September adoption of anti-LGBT amendments, which HRW reports “prohibit positive references to LGBT people in literature, film, and media, as well as in schools and at public gatherings.”

HRW recalls that the organizers of Tbilisi Pride refrained from holding in-person events during Pride Month in 2024, citing concerns over potential violence and hate rhetoric, compounded by introduction of the anti-LGBT legislation.

The report also notes that in April, the parliament abolished mandatory parliamentary and municipal council quotas for women, the move that was criticized by the Venice Commission and the OSCE.

Children’s Rights

The report refers to the concluding observations on Georgia by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which highlighted the need for urgent measures in several key areas, including abuse, neglect, sexual violence, and exploitation of children. Another matter of concern is the insufficient measures to address violence in families, residential care, foster care, and educational institutions.

Labor Rights

Labor rights continue to be a serious concern in Georgia, HRW said, noting that overtime regulations are weak, wage theft is widespread, social protections are minimal, and wages are effectively unregulated. 

Also Read:

• 16/01/2025 – Liveblog: Resistance 2025 | Vazha Darchia Detained in Batumi Released
• 14/01/2025 – 2025 | Chronicle of Repression
• 24/12/2024 – Tear Gas, Violence, and Medals: HRW Slams GD Government Response to Protests
• 11/12/2024 – HRW Representatives Urge EU to Sanction Georgian Officials, Calls for Independent Investigation
• 21/08/2024 – HRW Criticizes Georgian Government Over Failure to Investigate Attacks on Critics
  

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