TBILISI, January 29 – Georgia’s ruling parliamentary majority has announced amendments to the country’s Law on Grants that would introduce criminal liability for receiving certain types of foreign funding without prior government approval. The changes were presented on Wednesday after a meeting of the parliamentary majority by its leader, Irakli Kirkhalia. Under the proposed amendments, … Read more
TBILISI, September 23 – Civil society and media groups in Georgia have escalated their battle against the so-called “Russian law” to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), filing several cases based on an argument that the legislation violates democratic freedoms. 16 media outlets, 120 NGOs, and four individuals filed their joint complaint on October … Read more
TBILISI, August 28 – A number of groups in Georgia have hit back at a government decision to freeze the bank accounts of seven non-governmental organizations (NGOs), calling it a politically motivated attempt to silence dissent and drawing parallels to Russian-style repression. In a joint statement, 53 civil society and media groups declared “full support … Read more
TBILISI, August 27 – It caused an outcry on Wednesday when authorities froze bank accounts belonging to seven organizations after prosecutors accused them of channeling donor funds toward violent protest activities. The groups themselves denounced the charges as baseless and politically motivated. The court decision was made under the new ‘foreign agents‘ law, which came … Read more
TBILISI, August 15 – Six non-governmental organizations (NGOs) say they have received another warning from the country’s Anti-Corruption Bureau accusing them of breaking Georgia’s new ‘foreign agents’ law. The legislation requires certain groups receiving funding from abroad to register in a public database. Critics liken it to similar laws in Russia, arguing it is designed … Read more
Tbilisi, DFWatch-Over a hundred non-governmental and media organizations declare their open disobedience to the foreign influence draft law initiated by the Georgian authorities and suspend all cooperation with the government “until the Russian Law is dropped.” In addition, as stated in the joint statement, they invite people to protest the bill on Sunday, at 19:00, … Read more
Georgian government, after a one-year forced pause and in the face of criticism both inside and outside the country, re-initiated the bill on “Agents of Foreign Influence”. The new initiative, titled as the draft law on “Transparency of Foreign Influence”, which Georgian Dream seems to be determined to finally adopt, envisages the mandatory registration of … Read more