GYLA: Fines Imposed on Protesters – Severe Violation of Freedom of Assembly

The Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA), a local human rights watchdog, said the fines imposed on protesters by authorities violate their rights to freedom of assembly and expression. From November 28, 2024, when popular protests erupted in Georgia, to March 18, 2025, fines imposed on protesters accused by authorities of blocking roads reached GEL 2 million (about USD 715,000), according to GYLA.

The watchdog calls the fines “draconian” and argues that the authorities are using the “roadblock” as a formal pretext to crack down on participants in protests that began against the Georgian Dream government’s decision to halt Georgia’s EU accession.

During the first months of the protests, the GD government changed the concrete legal norm in the Administrative Code of Georgia by increasing the fine for blocking the road tenfold from GEL 500 to GEL 5,000 (approximately USD 1900).

The GYLA notes that the authorities rely on footage from the facial recognition cameras widely installed recently in Tbilisi and use them as primary “evidence” to fine protesters.

“The current practice of imposing heavy fines on protesters for blocking roads during spontaneous gatherings constitutes a severe violation of the rights to freedom of assembly and expression,” the watchdog says, concluding that the use of heavy fines in the current crackdown marks a “dramatic deepening of Georgia’s democratic backsliding under the Georgian Dream.”

The 5,000 GEL fine is more than twice the average monthly income in Georgia. The hefty fines have been widely criticized by watchdogs as a repressive tool in the hands of the GD government to kill protests.

Many of those fined also claim that they did not block the road and were unfairly fined simply for taking part in the protest. There have been cases where journalists have been fined under the same pretext of blocking the road while carrying out their professional duties. Many protesters have been fined multiple times.

The fines had largely been paid out of public funds supporting the ongoing protests, until they were frozen on March 17 at the request of the prosecutor’s office to the court. The prosecutor claimed that they had financed “illegal activities” during the protests, “encouraged civil unrest” and “other unlawful activities.”

The Social Justice Center, another local human rights watchdog assessed the freezing of funds supporting the protesters was assessed as a “politically motivated” act. The move, the SJC said, “halts the work of concrete civil society organizations and ultimately aims to weaken the momentum of the protest and punish the rally participants.”

Also Read:

• 14/03/2025 – Watchdog Says GD Uses Administrative Offenses Code to Suppress Protest, Calls for Reform
  

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