The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) registered a joint application filed by seven Georgian non-governmental and media organizations against the local version of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and Georgian Dream’s other repressive moves and laws, the applicants said on September 5.
Among the applicants are Georgian NGOs – Transparency International (TI) Georgia, Georgia’s European Orbit, Rule of Law Center, Civic Movement for Freedom, Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC), and the news outlet Publika.
“The application concerns both the repressive legislation and the specific actions initiated based on these laws – namely, the investigation launched by the Anti-Corruption Bureau against some of the applicants,” TI Georgia said in the statement.
A total of eight local civil society organizations were subject to two series of inspections in June and August by Georgia’s Anti-Corruption Bureau under Georgian FARA and three other laws, including the Law on Political Associations, the recently amended Law on Grants, and the Law on Combating Corruption. The joint Strasbourg application also challenges the Law on Grants, as well as provisions of the Law on Political Associations used in the crackdown, TI Georgia told Civil.ge.
“We argue that the government’s goal is not to enforce the law, but to suppress dissent and halt our activities so that we can no longer help people,” TI said. “These laws fundamentally contradict the freedoms of association and expression, the right to privacy, the right to a fair trial, and other rights.”
Adopted in Spring 2025, FARA is the third “foreign agents” law introduced since 2023 and the second to take effect, alongside the still-unenforced Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, also known as the Russian law. Unlike the transparency law, which imposes heavy administrative fines for noncompliance, the Georgian FARA extends to individuals and carries criminal penalties, including fines of up to 10,000 GEL ($3,650), up to five years in prison, or both.
In 2024, the Strasbourg court also registered a similar complaint (GYLA and Others v. Georgia) filed by 16 media outlets, 120 NGOs, and four individuals against the “Transparency” law, which still remains in force. The Venice Commission has sought permission to intervene as a third party in this pending case.
The applications come as Georgian Dream authorities intensify the crackdown on civil society and media through repressive laws and criminal probes. On August 27, 2025, authorities froze the bank accounts of seven civil society groups as part of a “sabotage” investigation, alleging their funds were used to equip protesters who clashed with police during 2024 demonstrations. Two individuals, including Nino Dolidze, the former head of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), and Tamta Mikeladze, director of the Social Justice Center, have already testified before a magistrate judge.
Dozens of local media outlets are also campaigning to raise funds as they struggle to survive amid a series of restrictive legislation barring access to foreign funding.
Also Read:
- 29/08/2025 – 18 Respirators, 20 Goggles: TV Imedi’s ‘Exclusives’ Air CSOs’ Spending in ‘Sabotage’ Probe
- 31/05/2025 – Georgian Dream’s FARA Takes Effect
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