The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, released today a memorandum asking the Georgian authorities to make progress in ensuring accountability for the disproportionate use of force against protesters and to reverse legislation curtailing freedom of assembly, association and expression in Georgia, following his visit to the country in April 2026.

Ensuring law enforcement accountability

The Commissioner welcomes a legislative proposal requiring all law enforcement personnel to wear visible identification numbers and calls for its prompt adoption and effective implementation. He acknowledges the recently announced criminal charges against five police officers for the use of disproportionate force against protesters and journalists in 2024 and early 2025. However, given that the Public Defender received ill-treatment reports from 360 protesters, the Commissioner is concerned about the substantial delays and the limited progress made to date. He underlines the importance of implementing the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights concerning effective and independent investigations into allegations of ill-treatment and the policing of demonstrations.

“Without further delay, the authorities should ensure a thorough, independent and transparent inquiry into the reported use of water cannons containing chemical substances against protesters, with the full participation of victims and civil society, and public disclosure of the findings,” said Commissioner O’Flaherty.

Protecting democratic freedoms

The Commissioner regrets that, rather than reviewing existing restrictions on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, the Georgian authorities adopted further limitations in October and December 2025. These include a mandatory prior notification requirement for any assembly, including spontaneous protests, new police powers to restrict protesters from impairing road or pedestrian traffic, expanded administrative sanctions, and criminal liability for repeated protest-related administrative offences.

“These amendments significantly restrict the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and appear incompatible with the principles of necessity and proportionality enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR),” said Commissioner O’Flaherty.

The Commissioner is concerned about the chilling effect of several laws relating to ‘foreign influence’ on civil society organisations (CSOs), human rights defenders and journalists. “I call for the repeal of the Foreign Agents Registration Law, which requires legal and natural persons to register as ‘agents of a foreign principal’ and of the wide-ranging amendments to the Law on Grants, which prohibit CSOs from receiving foreign funding without official permission. The authorities should also halt the administrative and criminal proceedings against dozens of CSOs for receiving foreign funding or for alleged involvement in aggravated sabotage, and immediately lift the freeze on their bank accounts,” said Commissioner O’Flaherty.

He considers that ongoing legal actions targeting opposition parties and politicians appear to be inconsistent with the ECHR.

Finally, the Commissioner warns that restrictions on freedom of expression, including the ban on foreign funding for media outlets and the cumulative effect of amendments to defamation law, risk driving journalists towards self-censorship.

• Read the Commissioner's full Memorandum on Georgia following his visit to the country
• Read the comments of the Georgian authorities on the Commissioner's Memorandum