Context
The incidents documented in May 2025 reflect the use of legal, administrative, and indirect mechanisms to exert pressure on civil activists. The documented cases involve administrative detention, the imposition of financial sanctions, and decisions targeting individual activists that affect their legal status and civil rights.
The reporting period is particularly notable for the use of financial sanctions, indicating the systematic nature of sanctioning practices. In addition, an incident of indirect pressure (chilling effect) against an activist was documented.
Furthermore, legislative developments affecting the functioning of civil society are of particular concern. During the reporting period, a law entered into force that further tightened the legal framework governing the activities of non-governmental organisations and the media, thereby contributing to the creation of an environment in which civic activism and freedom of expression are placed under severe pressure.
Incidents
On 1 May 2025, the Tbilisi City Court heard the case of Miranda Baghaturia and Ana Qurashvili, press officers of the opposition political parties Akhali and Girchi – More Freedom. A representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), Tamta Kimbarishvili, requested that the activists be subjected to administrative detention. However, the court instead imposed GEL 4,000 fines on both Qurashvili and Baghaturia. They had been accused under Article 173(2) of the Code of Administrative Offences of insulting police officer Mirian Kavtaradze. It is noteworthy that on 1 June 2025, Tamta Kimbarishvili was appointed Head of the Hate Speech Monitoring Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
On 5 May 2025, three activist women – Nutsa Makharadze, Keti Jananashvili, and their friend were reportedly attacked near a residential building. According to Makharadze, the attackers ambushed them as they exited an elevator and sprayed pepper spray and green dye into their faces before fleeing the scene. Makharadze later stated that, despite the existence of potential evidence, including the bottle allegedly used in the attack, she had not been informed of meaningful investigative progress.
On 19 May 2025, Lasha Gabitashvili, a participant in the pro-European protests who became publicly known following an incident involving members of the ruling Georgian Dream party in Abu Dhabi, was deprived of Georgian citizenship. The stated reason was his acquisition of dual citizenship. Gabitashvili obtained an Israeli passport following his marriage and applied to the Ministry of Justice in February 2025 to retain his Georgian citizenship. According to legal experts, there were no legal grounds for revoking Gabitashvili’s citizenship, and he could have retained Georgian citizenship while simultaneously holding the citizenship of another state.
On 26 May 2025, political activist Luka Natsvlishvili was detained by police following the conclusion of a protest held in Batumi on 26 May. The Batumi City Court sentenced the activist to 12 days of administrative detention. The Ministry of Internal Affairs accused Natsvlishvili of petty hooliganism and failure to comply with a lawful order of a police officer.
On 30 May 2025, Judge Nino Enukidze of the Tbilisi City Court sentenced Tornike Skhvitaridze to five days of administrative detention and imposed a GEL 5,000 fine on Ani Kavtaradze. The Ministry of Internal Affairs accused Ani Kavtaradze, a member of the Akhali party, and Tornike Skhvitaridze, the brother of imprisoned activist Saba Skhvitaridze, of insulting police officer Mirian Kavtaradze in a courthouse corridor on 17 April. On that day, Mirian Kavtaradze testified as a witness in the criminal proceedings against detained activist and Akhali party member Saba Skhvitaridze. During the testimony, Tornike Skhvitaridze was inside the courtroom, while Ani Kavtaradze remained outside. After the police officer’s testimony concluded, supporters of Saba Skhvitaridze formed a so-called “corridor of shame” for Mirian Kavtaradze.
Also on 30 May 2025, Judge Manuchar Tsatsua of the Tbilisi City Court sentenced activists Tatia Apriamashvili and Lika Lortkipanidze to 12 days of administrative detention each, while Magda Mamukashvili was fined GEL 4,000. The decision related to an incident that occurred on 17 May at a café, where the activists protested against Georgian Dream Member of Parliament Mariam Lashkhi by chanting: “Freedom for the regime’s prisoners,” “No to the Russian regime,” and “Down with Russia’s slaves.”
As of 31 May 2025, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, adopted by Georgian Dream on 1 April and commonly referred to as the “Georgian FARA,” entered into force. The Anti-Corruption Bureau is responsible for enforcing the law. Unlike the United States Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), the Georgian law specifically targets Georgian non-governmental organisations and media outlets. The law requires registration, disclosure of relevant documentation, and the submission of annual financial declarations. Failure to comply, or improper compliance, with these obligations is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment or a fine for natural persons, and by a fine for legal entities.
It is noteworthy that the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) has already lodged a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court of Georgia seeking the suspension of the Georgian FARA law. The co-applicants are the media organisations Studio Monitor and Georgia’s Ambebi. The constitutional complaint was filed on 15 May 2025.
