Georgia: New Laws Devastate Independent Civic Groups

Georgian authorities are employing repressive laws, funding restrictions, and politically motivated criminal investigations to dismantle independent civil society. New legislation places almost all foreign funding under strict government control and imposes stigmatizing foreign agent labels. These measures threaten activists and independent groups with severe fines and prison sentences. Consequently, there are calls for the government to repeal these unjustifiable legal measures to allow independent groups to operate without undue interference from the state authorities.