HRW: Georgia Using New Laws to Arbitrarily Detain and Harass Peaceful Protesters

2026-01-26 - 13:55

Human Rights Watch, an international human rights organization, said Georgian authorities are using recently tightened protest restrictions and penalties to “arbitrarily detain and harass” protesters, “effectively making the right to protest in Georgia increasingly difficult and dangerous.” The January 23 statement came after Tbilisi City Court sent five protesters to four to five days in administrative detention and verbally warned several others for “obstructing people’s movement” by rallying on a sidewalk during nightly protests on Rustaveli Avenue near the Parliament. The offense of “obstructing people’s movement” on pedestrian areas, punishable by up to 15 days in detention, was introduced under December legislative changes, which HRW said give police “sweeping discretion to restrict protests on roadways and pedestrian areas, including sidewalks, and impose harsh penalties for noncompliance.” The changes also introduced a requirement for protesters to notify the Interior Ministry about gatherings. “These amendments give police dangerously broad powers to decide when, where, and whether people can protest,” said Giorgi Gogia, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. With dozens of cases pursued, HRW warned that the measures raise “serious concerns about abuse of power and violations of Georgia’s international human rights obligations.” The organization said it is “further concerned” that several “sidewalk” cases have been rescheduled or reclassified as criminal, potentially exposing protesters to harsher penalties. Stressing that any restriction must meet the standards of “necessity and proportionality,” the HRW said that people should be able to participate in public life “without fear of abusive policing, arbitrary arrest, or disproportionate sanctions.” The organization said Georgia should repeal or amend the restrictions that “unjustifiably restrict peaceful assembly and bring the law in line with international standards.” Local watchdogs raised similar concerns following court orders sending protesters to jail for days for “standing on a sidewalk.” “These rulings effectively turn the freedom of assembly into a preemptively restricted right, strip its substance of meaning, and are clearly unconstitutional,” said Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA), a local human rights group. “Imprisonment for standing on the sidewalk [...] cannot withstand any criticism under either the Constitution of Georgia or the international human rights instruments guaranteeing the freedom of assembly,” Transparency International-Georgia said. Georgia’s Interior Ministry dismissed the interpretation that protesters were jailed for “merely standing on a sidewalk” as a “complete falsehood and manipulation,” saying the individuals had obstructed pedestrian movement and “committed an administrative offense,” for which corresponding penalties were imposed. Also Read: 20/01/2026 – Public Defender Challenges Protest-Related Restrictions, Penalties in Constitutional Court 16/10/2025 – Georgian Dream Adopts Harsher Penalties For Protest Offenses