Human Rights Watch on Thursday condemned Georgia’s new laws stating they effectively criminalize peaceful protest by imposing heavy fines and empowering police to detain protestors. These measures, adopted in late 2024 and enforced throughout 2025, have left citizens vulnerable to detention and financial penalties simply for exercising their right to peaceful assembly.

In November 2024, Georgia’s ruling party suddenly suspended membership from the country’s long-standing bid to join the European Union (EU), a move that triggered widespread public outrage and mass demonstrations across the capital, Tbilisi and other cities.

The government responded to the protests with an enactment of new laws that sharply curtailed the right to peaceful demonstrations.

In February 2025, lawmakers

See Full Page