GYLA: 2025 Was Year of ‘Curtailed Freedoms’ in Georgia

The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA), a leading local human rights watchdog, described 2025 as a year of "curtailed freedoms" in Georgia in a report released on December 10, Human Rights Day. “2025 is the year of curtailed freedoms, a situation in which autocratic lawmaking and disproportionate restrictions on freedoms placed particular pressure on freedom of expression, assembly, and association, that is, on the rights that make democracy functional,” said the organization’s 48-page report, Human Rights Situation in Georgia 2025, summarizing the year. According to the report, a process of "strengthening authoritarianism" that began in 2024 continued in 2025, with authorities "deliberately undermining human rights and democracy through various methods, including the deterioration of the legislative framework, physical violence, groundless arrests and fines, politically motivated justice, and disinformation campaigns." The report said the situation regarding freedom of association “deteriorated significantly,” citing, among others, Georgian Dream’s adoption of “repressive laws,” including the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and the amended Law on Grants, which the organization noted “stigmatize civil society, restrict access to resources, and criminalize its activities.” It also cited authorities’ investigations, freezing of bank accounts, and interrogations of civil society, which the group said were “politically motivated.” “Freedom of expression was a particular target of the Georgian Dream,” GYLA said, stressing that legislation regulating the right “significantly deteriorated,” citing, among others, the prohibition of insulting statements against political officials, changes to defamation-related law, the ban on foreign funding for broadcasters, and restrictions on media coverage inside court premises. “Throughout 2025, the state attempted to create an environment of self-censorship in society through administrative sanctions regarding criticism of representatives of the Georgian Dream government.” Similarly, the situation regarding freedom of assembly “continued to deteriorate,” GYLA said, citing Georgian Dream’s amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses, the Criminal Code, and the Law on Assemblies and Manifestations, which it said were “incompatible with human rights.” The group also pointed to the introduction of new offenses and “significantly increased sanctions.” “Throughout the year, groundless administrative detentions, high fines, and physical violence were actively used against protest participants,” the report added. The report identified “politically motivated criminal justice” as “one of the most significant problems.” The group said its monitoring showed that 147 activists and politicians were charged under criminal law in the context of the 2024–2025 protests, including 66 people arrested over the October 4 events. It said that criminal prosecution mechanisms against activists are “aimed not only at preventing specific possible crimes, but also at suppressing the rights of freedom of assembly and expression.” “The state continued its degrading treatment of demonstrators in 2025,” the report said, citing the February 2 rally as an example, while noting that “those responsible for the systematic torture in November–December 2024 remain unpunished.” In addition to what it called the investigation’s “continued superficial and ineffective nature,” the group also pointed to the GD government’s July decision to abolish the Special Investigation Service, which was responsible for investigating police violence and official misconduct. GYLA said the purges of “critical” civil servants from the civil service and the weakening of their labor guarantees continued, "making them targets of discrimination and labor rights violations." The report said the realization of the right to equality and the situation of vulnerable groups "remain problematic." The report said that the Georgian Dream left various groups in society “without meaningful opportunities for self-organization, advocacy, and access to services,” adding that the state “continues to undermine the progress achieved over the years in terms of gender equality through anti-gender rhetoric and laws, and to encourage sexism and homophobia/transphobia.” "In 2025, there were also cases in which the police themselves used gender-motivated insults, physical violence, and sexual harassment against women participating in protests," the report noted. According to the report, economic, social, and cultural rights “remain neglected, with numerous problems persisting.” The organization highlighted “dire consequences” for the right to adequate housing and the right to live in a safe environment, warning that several deaths in 2025 were likely linked to the state’s neglect of its positive obligations to ensure the right to life. 08/12/2025 - Georgian Dream Plans to Extend Anti-Protest Laws to Pedestrian Zones 10/11/2025 - CSOs: Anti-Corruption Bureau Weaponized to Suffocate Civil Society, Blind to Rampant Graft 24/10/2025 - GYLA Reports on Protest-Related Trial Trends 16/10/2025 - Georgian Dream Adopts Harsher Penalties For Protest Offenses 22/09/2025 - Dozens of CSOs Report New Inspections Under Amended Law on Grants