The ruling Georgian Dream party announced on October 13 a new wave of crackdowns on ongoing protests and opposition groups, including criminal sentences for protest-related offences and harsh restrictions on members of parties it is seeking to outlaw through a constitutional appeal.
The announcement comes amid repeated signals from Georgian Dream officials that they plan to use the voluminous report of the party-led parliamentary commission to seek the banning of major opposition forces. The new restrictions also follow a series of laws and measures introduced by the ruling party to crack down on freedom of assembly, including through the imposition of heavy fines and administrative detentions.
“Work on the text of the [constitutional] appeal is almost complete, and the claim will be filed with the Constitutional Court in the near future,” said Irakli Kirtskhalia, the parliamentary majority leader of the ruling party, in a briefing following a meeting at Georgian Dream’s headquarters in Tbilisi.
The announced amendments to the Law on the Constitutional Court of Georgia target “persons associated with a political party violating constitutional principles” and include provisions to strip such individuals of their “passive voting rights,” meaning they would be:
- banned from running in parliamentary or local self-government elections;
- barred from assuming high-level public offices;
- prohibited from leading constitutional bodies; and
- removed from party activities, banned from membership in any political party, and prevented from establishing new ones.
At the same time, under the proposed amendments, “parties acting within the constitution must abstain from entering into any form of political-legal relations with such individuals.” Political parties that fail to comply with the ruling of the Constitutional Court would face criminal fines.
Protest-Related Restrictions:
The ruling party also announced plans to severely tighten protest-related laws through proposed amendments to the Administrative Offenses Code and the Criminal Code, including:
- Protesters caught covering their faces, carrying prohibited or intoxicating substances, blocking roads, or setting up “temporary constructions” during rallies would face administrative detention for a first offense, while the “organizers” could face up to 20 days of administrative detention.
- Participation in an assembly “subject to termination at the demand of the Ministry of Internal Affairs” would be punishable by up to 60 days of administrative detention.
- Individuals carrying “weapons, pyrotechnics, or objects used to inflict harm on the life and health of others” would also face administrative detention of up to 60 days.
Notably, per proposed amendments, repeated commission of the above-listed offenses will result in a criminal responsibility of up to one year in prison, while third and subsequent offenses will carry a punishment of up to two years in jail.
Additionally, individuals who insult or disobey the lawful orders of law enforcement for a third time will face a criminal responsibility of up to one year in prison, while subsequent offenses will result in a criminal liability of up to two years in jail.
The announcement comes as plenary sessions are set to resume in the one-party parliament following a break for municipal elections. It also follows warnings from GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, issued after the October 4 unrest, calling for an end to the daily rallies on Tbilisi’s Rustaveli Avenue. He pledged “methodic and systemic steps” and “zero compassion” toward what he described as 100 “foreign agents” attending the rallies.
Non-stop demonstrations have been taking place in Georgia’s major cities since the ruling party announced on November 28, 2024, its decision to halt the country’s EU integration process.
In a joint statement released on October 10, Georgian human rights watchdogs said that their legal aid network, established in 2024, had helped 1,400 people appeal protest-related fines.
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