On June 19, 2025, the Social Justice Center received a court order notifying us that the Anti-Corruption Bureau has initiated an investigation into our activities. We would like to inform the public, our friends, colleagues, partners, and beneficiaries of this development. The Bureau is asking the court to provide it with unrestricted access to information that is pertinent to our work. The request encompasses the organization's complete legal, technical, and financial data from January 1, 2024, to June 10, 2025. Most concerningly, this request also mandates the provision of comprehensive records of the legal and human rights support that we have rendered to our beneficiaries.

We are being requested by the court to provide information in accordance with the laws "On Combating Corruption," "On Political Associations of Citizens," and "On Grants," rather than the "Foreign Agents Registration Act" (FARA). Nevertheless, the legal provisions and conditions that the court has cited are inapplicable and irrelevant to our activities (see our comprehensive legal assessment for a more detailed explanation).

The court order grants the Anti-Corruption Bureau authority to collect all categories of information within the specified timeframe, without imposing any limits based on the scope or purpose of the investigation.This overly broad request places our organizational activities under disproportionate state scrutiny. Moreover, it includes sensitive data, such as beneficiaries’ personal information and internal correspondence, representing an unjustified and unlawful interference in our legal aid and human rights efforts.

During a briefing held by the Anti-Corruption Bureau on June 18, Razhden Kuprashvili stated that the information requested from civil society organizations is intended to assess the use of grants and evaluate the goals of organizations involved in political activity, assuring that the confidentiality of both professional and personal data is fully protected throughout the process[1]. We wish to underscore that this claim is inaccurate and intended to mislead the public. As with similar requests sent to other non-governmental organizations, the Anti-Corruption Bureau is explicitly demanding that we disclose personal information about our beneficiaries.

We firmly believe that the initiation of legal proceedings by the Anti-Corruption Bureau is devoid of legal grounds and constitutes an unlawful interference in the operations of an independent organization, aimed at obstructing and silencing our work.

The Social Justice Center is dedicated to the protection of the freedom of association and expression of civil society organizations, including its own, and will employ all available legal remedies to achieve this objective. Moreover, we will do everything in our power to ensure that our efforts and fight to protect human rights, social welfare, and democracy continue.

At the same time, we will fully uphold professional confidentiality obtained through our legal and human rights work and will not disclose any personal information concerning the hundreds of individuals under our protection, including women, children, persons with disabilities, workers, queer individuals, ethnic and religious minorities, migrants, environmental defenders, prisoners, and members of the clergy.

As is publicly known, on June 17, 2025, the Anti-Corruption Bureau also sent letters to other civil society organizations, including Transparency International Georgia, Sapari, the Civil Society Foundation, the Economic Policy Research Center, and the Georgia's Future Academy. We stand in solidarity with our partner organizations and are prepared to work alongside them in the fight for human rights protection and the development of a democratic society in Georgia.

The Social Justice Center has been committed to safeguarding the rights and interests of economically, socially, and politically marginalized individuals and social groups since its inception. For over 12 years, our organization has been actively involved in human rights advocacy, while also conducting research, educational activities, and standing alongside numerous social movements and communities in the fight for a more democratic, just, and egalitarian society and system. We remain hopeful that, despite the difficult context of rising authoritarianism and repressive legislation, we will be able to continue our work and fight for a fair, equal, and free Georgia.

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