Image by Arzu Geybullayeva. Created via Canva Pro.

June 15 marked the 200th day of protests in Georgia, ignited by the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party's November 2024 decision to suspend talks on the country's European Union accession.

The milestone was observed with further demonstrations across the country, as crowds gathered in main squares to demand the release of all arrested protesters, a re-run of the October 2024 parliamentary election, and the resignation of the current government.

Far from yielding, the ruling party continued to respond with sweeping legal changes and a wave of ongoing arrests.

Escalating repression and arrests

Recent arrests underscore the government's tightening grip. On June 13, Nika Gvaramia, leader of the opposition Ahali party, was sent to pretrial detention. His arrest followed his boycott of a parliamentary commission established to investigate alleged crimes during the United National Movement (UNM) rule (2003-2012).

This commission, established in February 2025, has expanded its scope, allowing GD to potentially implicate any opposition figure. Since May, at least three other opposition leaders – Nika Melia, Irakli Okruashvili, and Zurab Girchi Japaridze – have been arrested on similar grounds.

Adding to the concern, on June 12, 21-year-old Mate Devidze was sentenced to four years and six months in prison. He was convicted for allegedly assaulting police officers during a November 19, 2024 rally, though his lawyers maintain he was merely defending himself with a rolled-up paper poster, not a weapon.

The sentencing sparked outrage, with former President Salome Zourabichvili, who was among supporters gathered outside the courthouse, stating, “A country where there is no justice is no country; is no state. Everyone will pay the price for this tomorrow or the day after.” The very same day, Zourabichvili herself was fined for blocking the road during protests.

Human rights groups estimate that hundreds of protesters have been arrested since last year; online critics of the government are also being targeted. Scores of Georgians, including politicians, journalists, and activists, have been summoned to court for “insulting” members of parliament (MPs) belonging to the ruling party on Facebook, for which they could face fines or detention under a diverse array of controversial laws and legislative amendments.

Fighting foreign influence

The law on Transparency of Foreign Influence is a controversial bill that sparked massive protests in 2023, forcing its initial withdrawal. However, it was reintroduced in April 2024 and, despite renewed widespread opposition, was approved in May. The law mandates that all media outlets and non-governmental organizations receiving more than 20 percent of foreign funding must register as “foreign agents” and report their annual income and donor sources.

When many organizations resisted complying, the government passed what it claimed was a word-for-word translation of the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The law broadly defines a “foreign agent” as anyone acting under the direction or control of a foreign power, with non-compliance punishable by imprisonment, fines, or both (up to five years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to GEL 10,000, or USD 3,600). Unlike the law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, FARA also applies to individuals, with the Anti-Corruption Bureau – operating under the prime minister’s office – determining who is “working at the direction of a foreign power.”

Criminal codes and protest-related restrictions

There have also been amendments to administrative and criminal codes, whereby fines and detention periods for protest-related offenses – including resisting, threatening or disobeying police officers – have dramatically increased.

Following widespread protests last year, the government intensified penalties for demonstrators while expanding police authority. Among other measures, there are now bans on face coverings during protests, restrictions on indoor demonstrations, and increased fines for blocking roads.

A new criminal code stipulation allows for the punishment of threats or attacks specifically targeting political officials, public servants, and government employees. This amendment makes “insulting” public officials in connection with their professional duties an administrative offense. Since these changes, numerous Georgians have faced fines.

Amendments to public service law

Conversely, emergency amendments introduced in December 2024 significantly weakened legal protections for public servants by simplifying dismissal mechanisms, particularly through “reorganization.”

By April, approximately 700 people were dismissed from the public service; illegal and arbitrary dismissals are reportedly ongoing. According to a Transparency International Georgia report, many of those dismissed signed pro-European petitions. The report notes that political motivations are behind these widespread terminations, with the aim of bringing the public service entirely under the ruling party's control.

Civil society impact

In February, the government introduced – and by April, passed – legislation which removed the requirement for civil society organizations to participate in public decision-making processes; it had previously been a mandatory condition set by the EU for Georgia's accession.

Restrictions on foreign grants for non-governmental organizations came soon after, via an amendment that further tightened restrictions on domestic NGOs receiving foreign grants. Under this new legislation, civil society groups must now obtain government consent and submit a copy of the grant to the Georgian government before accepting funds from abroad.

As of June 10, following updated provisions, grants now encompass technical assistance in the form of technology, specialized knowledge, skills, expertise sharing, and more.

Laws affecting vulnerable groups

On the heels of a 2024 amendment that abolished gender quotas for parliamentary election lists, GD and its allied party, People’s Power, passed a law that effectively removes the words “gender” and “gender equality” from all Georgian legislation.

Meanwhile, an anti-LGBTQ+ law curtails freedom of expression and assembly for queer individuals, prohibits gender reassignment surgeries and legal recognition of gender, and reinforces the existing ban on same-sex marriage while extending censorship to media and education.

It also prevents LGBTQ+ individuals from adopting or fostering children, controversially equates homosexuality with incest, bans alternative forms of civil union among non-heterosexual couples, and establishes a public holiday honouring “family sanctity and respect for parents” on May 17, the same date as the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.

Extending influence to politics

In April came changes to the electoral system, restricting how elections are monitored and altering the structure of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), enabling it to make rulings without the support of opposition groups.

Authorities also enacted legislation simplifying the process for banning political parties. The Constitutional Court can now prohibit parties that “substantially repeat” the goals or activities of existing political entities.

Targeting broadcasting

Ever since the October 2024 parliamentary elections, GD has enacted two significant amendments to the country's broadcasting laws, which empower the government to set “coverage standards” for broadcasters and control their funding by banning foreign financial support.

GD Parliamentary Leader Mamuka Mdinaradze claimed these adjustments would align Georgia's legislation with the British model. The government subsequently announced its intention to extend these restrictions to online media, though this has not yet been legally codified.

Leveling fines against television channels is not a new tactic, but this month, GD initiated lawsuits against opposition-aligned TV channels Formula, Mtavari, and TV Pirveli, specifically targeting their use of critical language like “illegitimate parliament,” “so-called parliament speaker,” “oligarch's MP,” “regime's city court,” “Ivanishvili's regime,” and “regime prisoners.”

In a statement, Transparency International Georgia voiced strong concern and asserted that these complaints constitute a direct attempt to impose censorship and are a clear and dangerous move to intimidate critical media outlets and suppress independent journalism in Georgia.

Declining track record