CSOs Report Reveals Human Rights Crisis in Georgia Following 2024 Elections

On May 14, 2025, eleven civil society organizations published a comprehensive joint report detailing a systematic crackdown on peaceful protesters in Georgia and repression following the country’s disputed 2024 parliamentary elections. Titled “Human Rights Crisis in Georgia After the 2024 Parliamentary Elections,” the report documents grave and widespread human rights violations committed between November 28, 2024, and February 28, 2025, and stresses their systemic nature. It places full responsibility for it on the ruling Georgian Dream party and its founder and honorary chair, Bidzina Ivanishvili.

“As Georgia faces growing authoritarian tendencies, it is imperative for the international actors to address these challenges quickly to protect the future of Georgia’s democracy and human rights, especially as “Georgian Dream” officials announce new draft laws on a daily basis that severely restrict freedoms,” the report stressed.

The report outlines the collapse of democratic institutions and the country’s growing isolation. It details violations of the right to peaceful assembly, cases of torture and mistreatment of individuals detained illegally, suppression of freedom of expression, and attacks on journalists and media outlets. The report also accuses the authorities of weaponizing the judiciary and using administrative detention as a tool of repression. Other reported abuses include politically motivated so-called “reorganization” within the civil service, raids on opposition party offices, and targeted actions against activists.

Context: Georgia’s Democratic Collapse and Isolation

The report warns that Georgia has shifted toward a semi-consolidated authoritarian regime under Georgian Dream’s rule. The 2024 parliamentary elections were marred by procedural violations, voter intimidation, and interference with independent observers. The regime has systematically misused its legislative powers to silence dissent, weaken democratic oversight, and abandon Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

According to the report, “the unconstitutional government of ‘Georgian Dream’ is now rapidly seeking, through its actions and the abuse of legislative powers, to reduce the remaining space for dissent and continue its rule indefinitely, thereby completely ignoring Georgia’s constitutionally enshrined Euro-Atlantic foreign policy.”

The report further emphasizes that the ruling party is consolidating power and escalating its authoritarian tendencies. CSOs argue that despite an ongoing case at the Constitutional Court, Parliament appointed new members in apparent violation of both the Constitution and its own procedural rules — rendering its authority, and key decisions such as the December 29, 2024 appointment of President Mikheil Kavelashvili, illegitimate.

Additionally, the report outlines the near-total collapse of independent oversight, noting that all branches of government appear captured. The judiciary functions with little transparency, frequently violating public access to information laws. Key institutions, the report says, including the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Central Election Commission, act as instruments of the ruling party, prioritizing partisan interests over public accountability. According to the report, Georgia’s international credibility has also deteriorated: in 2023, the country withdrew from OECD/ACN monitoring, and in 2024, was suspended from the Open Government Partnership. The Georgian delegation’s withdrawal from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) further underscores the nation’s growing isolation from critical international platforms and weakening of its ties with Western allies.

Assault on Freedom of Assembly

From November 28 to December 8, 2024, police violently dispersed peaceful protests on at least seven separate nights. Protesters were cornered and assaulted using water cannons, tear gas, and pepper spray—often without legal warning or identification of police units involved. The report documents that police officers wore masks or medical face coverings to prevent identification.

“The crackdowns were usually preceded by a large concentration of the police forces at the beginning of the streets surrounding the Parliament, during which the citizens were positioned facing the law enforcement officers,” the report reads. “During the communication, the police representatives engaged in verbal confrontations with the citizens and provoked them.”

The report also states that the MIA did not provide enough information about the units or chemical agents used. Six of the seven dispersals occurred without prior warning to protesters. The warnings that were given failed to meet legal standards for clarity and timing.

The document indicates that many protesters reported serious long-term health issues, including respiratory failure, lung inflammation, and neurological symptoms. The document accuses the state of weaponizing public order mechanisms to punish dissent.

Torture and Ill-Treatment of Detainees

The report identifies 282 cases of inhuman or degrading treatment during the reporting period. Of the 117 individuals interviewed, more than 77% reported experiencing police violence. According to the report, incidents of torture included beatings, what is referred in the document as “punishment” at protest sites and inside police vans, with special forces “typically” targeting victims’ heads and faces.

Psychological abuse was also widespread. Reported tactics included threats, humiliation, intimidation, rape threats, homophobic slurs, and anti-European hate speech. The report emphasizes that special forces allegedly confiscated phones, cash, and valuables without returning them. Detainees were also subjected to false accusations and degrading treatment, such as being locked in dark minibuses and forced to witness the beatings of others.

The report identifies other types of abuses, such as threats – of death, rape, rape of a family member, threat of criminal prosecution; humiliation – swearing, using homophobic and anti-European hate speech, mocking, spitting; intimidation/terrorization – locking people up in a dark minibus and turning the lights on/off, shouting from the outside the minibus, intimidating people before placing them in the minibus, saying they would now be put in the “magic bus”, victims of violence often had to watch violence against others in the minibus; accusation – accusing the protesters of actions that they had not committed, for example, during the beatings or transportation, some respondents were accused of cursing at the police officers and throwing things at them; threatening with rape or otherwise sexually harassing protesters during beatings, transportation, or at the law enforcement facilities; sometimes accompanied by homophobic and anti-European language and narratives.

Suppression of Free Expression and Media

CSOs argue that journalists have been among the primary targets of state repression, with at least 108 documented incidents involving physical assaults, equipment seizures, verbal abuse, and arbitrary arrests.

“Cases of beatings, swearing, threats, harassment, deliberate use of the special means, damage and seizure of equipment, arrest, detention and the imposition of administrative fines have been identified against the journalists,” the report states, noting that the case involving Mzia Amaghlobeli, director of Batumelebi/Netgazeti, is ongoing.

The report highlights the government’s increased control over the Public Broadcaster. According to the report, the GD government uses the Public Broadcaster as a propaganda tool to disseminate hate speech and disinformation. Additionally, civil society organizations (CSOs) emphasize that pro-government media outlets, including Imedi, Rustavi 2, and POS TV, are actively engaged in spreading propaganda, false narratives, and smear campaigns that target civil society and the opposition.

Weaponization of Courts and Administrative Detention

According to the report, between November 19, 2024, and February 28, 2025, a total of 1,084 individuals faced administrative proceedings, and 486 of them were arrested. Many were sentenced to up to 60 days of detention under amended laws that imposed harsher fines and penalties. “Administrative arrests were almost always arbitrary and part of a mechanism of intimidation. Minors and people with disabilities were among the arrestees”, the report states.

The report stresses that “gross violations of the procedural rights of the administratively arrested persons, including the arbitrary extension of the arrest and the obstruction of the exercise of the right to defense, were not caused by institutional shortcomings, system overload, or incompetence, but rather represent a deliberate tool to influence the activists and serve to restrict political opinion in the country.”

It also highlights the use of criminal justice mechanisms against demonstrators, with multiple cases from the November–December 2024 and April–May 2024 protests actively proceeding in court. “The use of criminal arrests related to protest activities has effectively criminalized peaceful protest and restricted free assembly,” the report says, concluding that the charges and strict legal measures reflect “political persecution by the ‘Georgian Dream’ government against people with different opinions and positions, which serves the purpose of suppressing public protest.”

Other Forms of Repression

The report also documents the dismissal of hundreds of civil servants from Parliament, city halls, and ministries after expressing pro-European views. According to civil society groups, these terminations were often masked as “reorganization” or non-renewal of contracts, but were politically motivated.

“The dismissal of the employees from the public institutions has been further simplified by the amendments to the Law ‘On Public Service‘, which were adopted by the ‘Georgian Dream’ in an accelerated manner on 13 December 2024,” the report states. “The amendments have worsened the legislative regulation, which essentially contradicts the spirit of the Constitution of Georgia and the Law of Georgia ‘On Public Service’ and worsens the rights of the public servants. The unlawful dismissal of the qualified and experienced public servants, along with the strengthening of political influence in the public service, will significantly harm the effective functioning of the public institutions.”

The report further describes forced disappearances of activists during key protest periods. Civil society offices and opposition party headquarters, as well as opposition politicians’ residences, were raided without court warrants, and protesters were arrested without explanation or access to legal counsel, especially prior to large protest mobilizations. “The searches would typically be conducted without the court’s permission or, in cases of emergency, without presenting a decree as required by the law,” the report adds.

State-Sanctioned Impunity and Complicity

The report concludes that all three branches of government—the executive, legislative, and judicial branches—are complicit in the repression. The report refers to high-ranking officials openly supporting violence and notes that the GD elected president Mikheil Kavelashvili awarded medals to police commanders involved in protest crackdowns. Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Service has not conducted any effective investigations.

International watchdogs like Freedom House, the UN, and Amnesty International have raised alarms. Civil society organizations warn that unless international pressure mounts, Georgia’s democratic backsliding may become irreversible.

Summary

According to the report, “the analysis of the repressions that began after 28 November 2024 indicates that the systemic violation of the fundamental human rights in Georgia is political in nature. In particular, the law enforcement, investigative, criminal prosecution, as well as justice agencies are trying to suppress the ongoing protests in the country through coordinated actions.”

The report identifies multiple divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs as key perpetrators of the repression, including the Special Tasks Department, the Criminal Police Department, the Tbilisi Police Department, the Adjara Police Department, and the Patrol Police Department. It further stresses that the MIA’s LEPL “Public Security Management Center 112” is misusing its video-analytic technology to support repressive actions.

“The investigation and criminal prosecution of the cases of torture, inhuman treatment and physical violence are being conducted ineffectively, for which the Special Investigation Service and the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia are responsible,” the report states. “The ineffectiveness of these agencies is the main guarantee of impunity for the law enforcement officials.

“The judiciary fails to ensure the protection of the basic human rights, moreover, it is complicit in the ongoing repressions. In the context of the demonstrations, there is virtually no fair trial for the repressed people,” the report concludes.

Also Read:

• 2025 | Chronicle of Repression
• Liveblog: Resistance
• 02/04/2025 – Public Defender’s 2024 Human Rights Report
• 13/03/2025 – V-Dem’s 2025 Report: Georgia Marked Largest One-Year Democratic Decline Since Independence
  

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