On October 8, 2025, the deputies of the Georgian Dream Party initiated yet another package of legislative amendments restricting the freedom of assembly and expression. The bill is being adopted under an expedited procedure and introduces changes to both the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses.[1] The explanatory notes attached to the bills are essentially unsubstantiated and justify the need for amendments only by citing the necessity to establish “proportionate responsibility.”

Under the proposed amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses (hereafter: CAO),[2] penalties are being toughened for several violations, including:

• Covering one’s face at a protest with a mask or other means (Article 174¹, paragraph 7 of the CAO). Under the current version, this act is punishable by a fine of 2,000 GEL or up to 7 days of detention. After the adoption of the bill, only administrative detention will remain as a sanction, with the maximum term increased to 15 days.[3]
• Possession of firearms, explosives, pyrotechnics, or other life-threatening means during an assembly or demonstration (Article 174¹, paragraph 5).[4] Under the current version, this offense carries a fine of 5,000 GEL or up to 15 days of detention. The bill replaces these alternatives with a single sanction—administrative detention for up to 60 days.[5]
• Erecting temporary constructions (e.g., stages, generators, tents, etc.) (Article 174¹, paragraph 5).[6] The current code provides a fine of 5,000 GEL or up to 15 days of detention. Under the new bill, only detention is foreseen—up to 15 days, or up to 20 days if committed by an organizer.
• Creating obstacles to pedestrian or vehicular movement, including full or partial blocking of roads (Article 174¹, paragraph 5).[7] As in the previous cases, the fine is abolished, and the maximum term of administrative detention is increased.

The proposed amendments to the Criminal Code[8] include:

• A substantial change to Article 347: under current law, a violation of the rules for holding an assembly or demonstration entails criminal liability only for the organizer, and only if it causes serious consequences. The draft law extends criminal liability to individual participants in certain cases. Participation in a dispersed protest, artificial blocking of a road, covering one’s face, setting up a temporary structure, or carrying tear gas—if previously sanctioned for such conduct—will now lead to criminal liability, punishable exclusively by imprisonment.
• A new offense is added to the Code: refusal to obey or insulting a law enforcement officer or other public official constitutes a criminal act if the offender has already been sanctioned for the same behavior under Article 173, paragraph 3 of the CAO.[9] The punishment in this case is also imprisonment for up to one year.
• Increased criminal liability for organizers of assemblies or demonstrations who violate the established procedure. Under the current Criminal Code, this offense allows for several non-custodial sanctions (imprisonment is not included). The bill, however, prescribes only imprisonment—up to four years—for organizers.

It is evident that these newly introduced amendments represent yet another step toward suppressing the ongoing protests in Tbilisi and other cities. Two days before the bills were initiated, Irakli Kobakhidze announced the government’s intention to take “methodical and systematic steps” against protest participants and to show “zero empathy toward these people.”[10] The introduction of repressive legislative mechanisms contrary to human rights standards became the first practical step of this “systematic approach.”

Across the country, citizens have been continuously protesting for over 320 days, demanding new parliamentary elections and the release of political prisoners. Against the backdrop of daily demonstrations, over the past ten months the Georgian Dream parliament has repeatedly adopted legislative amendments restricting the freedom of assembly and expression. The amendments of December 13, 2024,[11] February 6, 2025,[12] and July 2, 2025[13] repeatedly increased sanctions for violations related to freedom of assembly and expression and introduced extremely repressive policing mechanisms granting law enforcement practically unrestricted powers over citizens. Notably, all these amendments were adopted within days, through an expedited procedure, in violation of democratic lawmaking principles, without proper explanatory notes, and without participation from the opposition or civil society.

Following the February 6, 2025 amendments, the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR published their opinions on the restrictive legislative changes.[14] Both clearly stated that the increased penalties for violations of assembly regulations are disproportionate and indirectly infringe upon the rights to freedom of assembly and expression. Nevertheless, in recent months, the Georgian Dream parliament has once again toughened the penalties for the same offenses—demonstrating complete disregard for the recommendations and standards of international organizations.

As already noted, under the bill initiated on October 8, 2025, sanctions are being tightened for many offenses that have already undergone multiple rounds of penalty increases in recent months. For instance, until November 28, 2024, occupying a roadway was punishable by a fine of 500 GEL or up to 15 days of detention. The first set of changes quadrupled the fine, while the current bill replaces it entirely with the harshest sanction—administrative detention.

International human rights standards require that criminal sanctions against protest participants or organizers be treated as a measure of last resort, subject to a strict proportionality test. Even where criminal mechanisms are applied, imprisonment must be avoided to the greatest extent possible. Authorities must recognize the importance of assembly both for the individual and for society as a whole.[15]

After several stages of repressive legislative amendments, the initiation of yet another package clearly shows that Georgian Dream is using every means to suppress peaceful protest, opting for punishment methods that rely almost entirely on custodial sanctions against participants. Particularly concerning is the growing trend of using criminal mechanisms—after instrumentalizing the Code of Administrative Offenses—against protesters. The expansion of criminal offenses demonstrates that the ruling party’s goal is to target and punish not only organizers and active participants, but every individual taking part in the protest.

The proposed amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code grossly violate fundamental human rights and serve the political interests of the ruling party rather than any legitimate purpose. In a context where state institutions—especially the judiciary—are fully captured and subordinated to the ruling party’s agenda, and no longer fulfill their function of checks and balances, these repressive laws pose even greater risks and consequences for citizens involved in protest activities.

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