OSCE Moscow Mechanism Report Notes ‘Marked Democratic Backsliding’, Issues Recommendations – Civil Georgia

A report prepared within the OSCE Moscow Mechanism, a human rights dimension tool for monitoring member states’ human rights and democracy commitments, noted “marked democratic backsliding” in Georgia since Spring 2024, recommending immediate release of “all prisoners held for political reasons” and repeal of a series of restrictive laws, among others.

The report, titled “Developments in Georgia in Respect of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms since Spring 2024” and released on March 12, less than two months after 24 countries invoked the measure, was prepared by the sole rapporteur, Professor Patrycja Grzebyk. She visited Georgia on February 17-18, where she met with government officials and opposition representatives, held online meetings with various stakeholders, received written submissions, and reviewed publicly available materials.

The report found “marked democratic backsliding” during the period under review, a “pattern of violence” that, in some instances, “reached the threshold of torture,” and noted restrictions of freedom of assembly and expression, including through laws, administrative and criminal proceedings. It also expressed concerns over the right to a fair trial against those engaged in dissent.

Among its recommendations, the report calls on the Georgian authorities to conduct “independent” and “impartial” investigations into alleged election irregularities and to implement the OSCE’s recommendations issued following the 2024 parliamentary elections. It also urges the authorities to invite OSCE/ODIHR mission observers for future elections, withdraw ongoing efforts to ban several opposition parties in the Constitutional Court, and drop what the report describes as arbitrarily brought criminal charges against leaders of political opposition.

The Rapporteur further recommends repealing several pieces of legislation that the report says are incompatible with Georgia’s international obligations, including the Foreign Agents Law, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, restrictions on foreign funding for media and civil society, anti-queer “Law on Family Values,” and abolishing excessive restrictions on the content of broadcasting under the Law on Broadcasting.

The report also calls on the authorities to “immediately and unconditionally” release individuals detained for “political reasons,” as well as journalists and “other participants of public debate held for exercising their freedom of expression.”

In its recommendations to the international community, the report further notes that the state parties to the Rome Statute “may consider referral of the situation in Georgia to the International Criminal Court, taking into account the growing number of examples of political persecution, torture and other inhumane acts.”

The Moscow Mechanism expert mission on Georgia began work on February 11, providing an email address in a post on X for the submission of “any relevant information.”

Findings

The report argues that “a marked democratic backsliding has taken place in Georgia” during the period under review.

It says the Rapporteur “could discern a pattern of violence and other abuses against protesters, leaders of political opposition and journalists,” noting that in some instances “the violence reached the threshold of torture.”

According to the report, this pattern was accompanied by “almost complete impunity” for perpetrators. It further argues that the authorities have “gradually limited” freedom of expression and freedoms of assembly and association, through introducing “legislation targeting civil society, political opposition, independent media and the LGBT+ community.”

The report adds that these freedoms were also “unduly limited” through restrictive administrative measures, including “high fines and administrative detention, as well as by launching criminal proceedings against the government critics.”

Referring to the ruling party’s constitutional complaint seeking to ban key opposition forces, the report says the move “threatens the existence of political pluralism.” It also describes an “atmosphere of hostility” toward actors independent of the government, compounded by “virtually unchecked instances of violence committed by unidentified groups of men who occasionally assault government critics, often in public spaces and broad daylight, with apparent impunity.”

“This atmosphere is also driven by the fierce, stigmatizing rhetoric of government-affiliated individuals,” the report states. It also raises “certain concerns” regarding the right to a fair trial for individuals “facing criminalization on account of their engagement in some form of dissent.”

Recommendations to Georgia

1. Conduct independent and impartial investigation into all allegations concerning election irregularities.
2. Implement the necessary changes to the organization of the elections, according to the recommendations made by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODHIR) in its report concerning the parliamentary elections of 2024.
3. Invite external observers (in particular an OSCE/ODHIR mission) to observe future
   elections. An invitation should be sent sufficiently in advance to enable ODHIR to conduct the election mission meaningfully.
4. Refrain from spreading defamatory information about the opposition and from rhetorical campaigns of intimidation and threats.
5. Refrain from the arbitrary initiation of procedures banning political parties in the Constitutional Court. Withdraw the currently pending applications.
6. Withdraw arbitrarily brought charges against leaders of political opposition (in particular based on Article 225, Article 318 and 319 of the Criminal Code).

• About legislative reforms:

1. The Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence (TFI), the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and the provisions concerning foreign grants in the Law on Grants should be repealed. Given the breadth of their incompatibility with Georgia’s international obligations, the Rapporteur does not consider them capable of being brought to compliance with those obligations by way of targeted amendments. In the event that Georgia does not decide to repeal these laws, they should be, at a minimum, amended in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission. This means, in particular, striking out the obligation to reveal sensitive information about beneficiaries and cooperators of entities subject to the mentioned legislation; lowering the penalties for violations of the mentioned laws; significant limitations on the obligation to register as ‘agents of foreign principals’ by taking into account whether an entity indeed acts at foreign directions or not. The language throughout these laws should, furthermore, be much more precise.
2. Similarly, the recent amendments to the Law on Broadcasting concerning foreign financing and restrictions on content of broadcasting (Article 54) should be repealed.
3. The Law on Family Values should be repealed. This concerns, particularly but not
   exclusively, equation of same-sex relationships and transgender identity with incest, prohibition of ‘popularization’ of these notions, including through gatherings, a ban on gender-affirming care and change of sex markers in identity documents and civil acts.
4. The premises of the crime of high treason should be narrowed and made more specific so as to preclude interpretation that allows prosecuting mere critique of the government by entities falling within the scope of TFI or FARA.
5. Regulations which introduced an absolute ban on covering of faces during demonstrations should be repealed. Other regulations disproportionately limiting the right to assembly (such as automatic detention and disproportionately high fines) should be repealed or revised in order to ensure a proper balance between this right and considerations of public order.
6. In the course of reforming higher education, the autonomy of academic institutions should be respected.

• About the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment:

1. Immediately cease the disproportionate use of physical force, in particular torture and other forms of ill-treatment against peaceful protesters, journalists and political opponents.
2. Ensure the proportionate use of force also against those protesters who exhibit violent behaviour.
3. Conduct immediate, independent and impartial investigations into allegations of torture and ill-treatment.
4. Ensure that the process of apprehension and transportation of detained persons conforms with the requirements of human dignity. Ensure decent conditions of detention.
5. To the extent possible, protect children from the impact of police raids and adopt child sensitive practices during police operations.

• About the right to liberty and security:

1. Immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners held for political reasons, in particular members of the opposition. Refrain from detaining them for political reasons in the future.
2. Immediately release journalists and other participants of public debate held for exercising their freedom of expression. Refrain from detention in similar circumstances in the future.
3. Respect the principles of legality, proportionality and due process when it comes to deprivation of liberty.

• About the right to fair trial:

1. Ensure that the standards of fair trial are respected, including presumption of innocence, equality of arms, and the speedy access to legal assistance in criminal proceedings.
2. Guarantee and respect judicial independence, including, in particular, through the appropriate reform of the High Council of Justice.
3. Cease to place the accused, if there are no compelling security concerns, in any kinds of cages during judicial proceedings.
4. Ensure that legal representatives have access to relevant information, files and documents in sufficient time to provide effective legal support.
5. Ensure the adequate transparency of judicial proceedings.
6. Reform administrative offence procedures to ensure that detention cannot be based solely on uncorroborated police testimony.

• About freedoms of assembly, association and expression:

1. Ensure the freedom of peaceful assembly in line with international standards like the General Commentary 37 of the UN Human Rights Committee of 2020 and case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
2. Respect the right to spontaneous assemblies as part of the right to assembly.
3. Cease to target journalists covering protests.
4. Refrain from arbitrarily detaining and fining peaceful participants of protests.
5. Refrain from arbitrary sanctioning of natural persons and organizations critical of government policies and actions.
6. Ensure the protection of human rights defenders in accordance with the UN Human Rights Defenders Declaration of 1998 and the OSCE/ODIHR Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders of 2014.
7. Limit restrictions on receiving foreign support by non-governmental organizations and broadcasters in Georgia to what is strictly necessary in order to safeguard national security and public order.
8. Refrain from any undue repression related to the performance of journalists’ duties, and from the unjustified seizure of and damage to their equipment and footage.
9. Abolish the excessive restrictions on content of broadcasting under the Law on Broadcasting.

• About the right to privacy:

1. Cease the campaign of stigmatization and intimidation against political opponents, civil society organizations (CSOs) and LGBT+ individuals and amend relevant laws accordingly.
2. Ensure that no unnecessary personal data is collected and no sensitive data is publicly available, including with respect to the implementation of TFI and FARA.

1. Provide the necessary means and resources to the Office of Public Defender of Georgia in order to enable it to perform all the Office’s tasks, including those related to the national preventive mechanism.
2. Promptly investigate all allegations of torture and ill-treatment by police/security forces and unidentified, masked persons.
3. Provide effective judicial remedies for alleged violations of human rights.
4. Provide full redress and compensation to all victims of ill-treatment at the hands of State authorities.
5. Take appropriate disciplinary measures against officials credibly implicated in serious abuses.

• About international cooperation:

1. Cooperate with the Venice Commission as well as other relevant international bodies whose mandate extends to Georgia and entertain their recommendations.
2. Cooperate with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to clarify the allegations concerning the use of chemicals against protesters.
3. Recognize the competence of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission according to the First Additional Protocol to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and ratify the remaining amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, having in mind the occupation of parts of Georgian territory by the Russian Federation.
4. Ratify the 2006 International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Response of Georgian Dream authorities

The report includes comments from various government branches and public bodies, such as the Government Administration, the Parliament Chairman’s Cabinet, the High Council of Justice of Georgia, the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia, the Central Election Commission, and the Communications Commission.

In its comments, the Government Administration is cited as saying that “executive summary and the recommendations presented in the report do not correspond to the information provided during the mission’s visit to Georgia and are not logically consistent with the narrative of the report.” It further says that the summary “focuses on concerns regarding alleged democratic backsliding, the functioning of democratic institutions, and the broader political environment in Georgia, without citing the specific sources or texts from which these conclusions are drawn.”

The Government Administration is further quoted as calling assessments in the report “largely based on selected cases and interpretations of recent legislative and political developments, which the report presents as evidence of systemic challenges.”

The Cabinet of the Parliament’s Chairman is quoted as calling the report “based on the hearsays.” The comments read: “The Rapporteur is not aware of Georgian legislation and she does not rely on facts or evidences. Thus, the whole Report is highly biased and politicized, and it lacks professional approach and analysis.”

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