The decision by Tbilisi City Court to freeze the bank accounts of seven civil society organizations has drawn sharp reactions from rights groups and public figures, who warn the move threatens Georgia’s democracy and relations with the EU.
According to Tamta Mikeladze, head of the civil society organization Social Justice Center, freezing the accounts of civil society organizations just before “the deadline on the EU visa liberalization issue” represents an escalation in relations with Brussels.
She explained that the account freezes effectively paralyze the organizations both institutionally and financially.
“Early this morning, we discovered that our accounts had been frozen. At first, we thought this had occurred as part of a procedure by the Anti-Corruption Bureau. However, we later learned from a public statement by the Prosecutor’s Office that the accounts of our organization and others had been frozen under the Office’s motion as part of an investigation into so-called sabotage. The accusation is so absurd that it probably doesn’t even need justification, though we will provide a more detailed response later.
At the same time, this decision practically means institutional and financial paralysis for our organizations. The Georgian Dream party wants to prevent us from continuing our support for citizens and social groups, to stop us from exposing their crimes and injustices, and to halt our efforts to build solidarity within society.
The decision to destroy civil society organizations just a few days before the visa liberalization deadline (August 31) practically represents an escalation in relations with Brussels by the Georgian Dream party and a complete sabotage of the process,” wrote Tamta Mikeladze on Facebook.
The women’s rights organization Sapari also has responded to the freezing of its bank accounts, declaring that it will continue the fight for truth and justice both in Georgia and internationally.
According to Sapari, it will carry on providing voluntary assistance to people for as long as it is able.
“On August 27, the Tbilisi City Court, acting on a request from the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia, ordered the freezing of Sapari’s bank accounts.
For 24 years, Sapari has worked to advance the rights of women and girls, combat gender-based violence, and promote equality. During this time, we have provided support to thousands of women and children — helping them stop violence, seek justice, and, in many cases, simply survive. Our mission has always been to empower women socially, economically, and politically.
The allegations disseminated by the Prosecutor’s Office — that Sapari’s funds were used to organize violent acts or procure equipment — are entirely baseless and defamatory. No evidence has been presented to substantiate these claims.
This decision is yet another example of the increasing use of Russian-style repressions against Georgian civil society organizations, with the clear aim of silencing critical voices and dismantling the foundations of civic life.
Georgia’s democratic development and the safety of all those who defend freedom, justice, and the country’s independence are now under direct threat.
Sapari remains committed to the fight for truth and justice, in Georgia and internationally. We call on the ruling Georgian Dream party to immediately lift the freeze on our accounts and to cease Russian-style repressions against its own citizens. We further urge the international community to respond to this unprecedented attack on civil society in Georgia.To women and children who are victims of violence, we say: reach out to us if you need support in defending your rights, your health, or your life. We will continue to assist you voluntarily for as long as we are able, because Sapari is a team united around the principles of equality and human dignity — a community of freedom-loving, patriotic citizens,” – reads the statement.
The head of the Georgian think tank Civic Idea and former Defense Minister, Tina Khidasheli, has also commented on the decision to freeze the accounts of seven CSOs.
“In this utterly disgraceful statement [by the Prosecutor’s Office], it says that human rights NGOs should be punished because ‘their organizational and financial activities were fully directed toward… , covering the legal defense costs, and other personal or organizational expenses.’
In other words, once again, human rights organizations are to be prosecuted under charges of sabotage, and a judge has upheld this simply because they provided their beneficiaries with legal services and helped them resolve organizational issues.
Nothing else written in this statement matters — because the very fact that the Prosecutor’s Office could write this, and that a judge would endorse it, is a tragedy of such scale that not even in the Soviet Union, decades after the 1930s, had such a thing occurred,” wrote Tina Khidasheli.
Simon Janashia, representative of “Freedom Square” and an education expert, also responded to the freezing of 7 CSOs’ bank accounts. According to him, the Prosecutor’s Office freezing the accounts of human rights organizations means that in Georgia, defending human rights is now being punished.
“NGOs have been helping countless people protect themselves from the repressions of Georgian Dream.
Today, the ‘Dream’ Prosecutor’s Office froze the accounts of these organizations and opened cases that could lead to life imprisonment for their members.
To put it simply: when Giorgi Akhobadze and Tedo Abramov were framed with drugs and kept illegally in prison for eight months before being released due to ‘insufficient evidence,’ according to the ‘Dream’s’ logic, no one should have defended them—because apparently, that was sabotage against the state.
This means that in Georgia today, defending human rights is punished when those rights are being violated by the state.
Moreover, at a time when Georgia must submit a report on the state of democracy to ensure that visa-free travel is not suspended, relations with Europe are also placed under enormous threat.
This once again shows that members of Georgian Dream are ready to sacrifice everyone and everything—fine and imprison innocent people, sell out Georgia’s interests—just so that Bidzina Ivanishvili can cling to power forever.
We will not accept this!” – wrote Simon Janashia
The Tbilisi City Court granted the Prosecutor’s Office’s motion and ordered the freezing of the bank accounts of seven civil society organizations.
By the court’s decision, the accounts of the following organizations were frozen: the Civil Society Foundation, the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, the Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information, Defenders of Democracy, the Georgian Democratic Initiative, Sapari, and the Social Justice Center.
The Prosecutor’s Office petitioned the court for this measure within the framework of an ongoing investigation into “sabotage, attempted sabotage under aggravating circumstances, assisting a foreign organization and organizations under foreign control in hostile activities, and mobilizing funds for actions directed against Georgia’s constitutional order and the foundations of national security.”
Specifically, prosecutors argued that during the spring protests, these organizations purchased gas masks, protective goggles, respirators, face coverings, pepper spray, and other equipment for demonstrators.
In Connection with Pro-EU Protests, Court Freezes Bank Accounts of 7 CSOs Citing Alleged Sabotage
