Amnesty International: Georgia is undergoing one of the most serious erosions of human rights since independence, as the ruling party increasingly resorts to authoritarian practices to preserve its grip on power amid growing public discontent over its approach to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Georgia’s relationship with the European Union, Amnesty International said today.

A new report, Anatomy of Repression – Georgia: 500 Days of Protest, Crackdown and Resilience, documents how the government led by the Georgian Dream party has weaponized disinformation to justify crackdowns and smear critics, abused parliamentary majorities to fast-track repressive laws, instrumentalized the courts and the police to prosecute opponents, and brutally crush protests as part of its all-out assault on human rights. The sweeping measures have effectively criminalized peaceful dissent.

“Georgia’s experience over the last three years is a cautionary tale of how governments can rapidly turn state institutions into potent tools of repression for the sake of entrenching their own power,” said Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

“Georgia’s authorities have weaponized disinformation, abusive legislation, police abuses and injustice in courts to shield against potential threats to their power. They have effectively created a system where peaceful dissent is treated as a crime, civil society is considered a national enemy, independent journalists are harassed, prosecuted and pushed into survival mode, and victims of police violence are denied justice and instead persecuted. Human rights and civic space have seen one of the deepest setbacks since Georgia regained independence.”

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