Human rights activists: 'Freezing NGO accounts in Georgia is an attempt to punish protesters and civil society'
Human rights activists on freezing of NGO funds in Georgia
According to Georgia’s Social Justice Centre (SJC), the freezing of accounts belonging to funds that supported protesters and political prisoners aims to suppress the protest movement and punish those participating in demonstrations.
The organization believes that the prosecutor’s actions are politically motivated.
Georgian authorities have frozen bank accounts used to support fined protesters and political prisoners. The assets of funds associated with Nanuka Zhorzholiani, Nika Gilauri, and the Tbilisi Human Rights House have been seized.
According to a statement from the Prosecutor’s Office, a total of five accounts were frozen as part of an investigation into “sabotage” and “activities directed against the constitutional order.”
The statement claims that investigators thoroughly examined the financial transactions of legal entities and individuals suspected of engaging in “illegal and in some cases criminal activities” related to the ongoing protests.
What does Social Justice Centre say?
The Centre for Social Justice (SJC) cited the prosecution’s justification for freezing the funds, which includes allegations of sabotage, attempts at sabotage under aggravating circumstances, aiding foreign organisations engaged in hostile activities, and mobilising resources for actions against Georgia’s constitutional order and national security.
The Prosecutor’s Office asserts that the seized funds were used to financially support various illegal and, in some cases, criminal activities linked to the protests. The targeted organisations allegedly provided financial aid to offenders and their families, including covering fines imposed on protesters.
However, the prosecution has not cited any legal grounds for freezing the bank accounts, nor has it referenced specific provisions of Georgia’s Criminal Procedure Code that justify the asset seizures.
The Prosecutor’s Office launched this investigation on 8 February 2025 following a complaint from the public movement “United Neutral Georgia,” which includes figures such as Nana Kakabadze and Vato Shakarashvili.
Although the exact legal basis for the asset seizure remains unclear, the prosecutor’s justification already raises several fundamental legal issues:
- Providing financial assistance to political prisoners and their families, as well as helping to pay disproportionate fines for administrative offenses, is not illegal under Georgian law and cannot serve as grounds for prosecution. The purpose of these funds is to mitigate the harm caused to Georgian citizens by the authoritarian and repressive actions of the Georgian Dream, and this objective falls within legal boundaries;
- Items cited by the prosecution—such as pyrotechnics, respirators, gas masks, and helmets—were not and are not illegal purchases. Therefore, there are no legal grounds for prosecution based on their acquisition;
- The prosecutor’s statement does not distinguish between the accused funds, individualize their alleged responsibility, or specify the exact charges against each. Furthermore, the prosecution fails to consider the immeasurable and irreversible damage that suspending the operations of civil society organizations could cause..
“In our assessment, the freezing of funds is yet another blatant attempt to suppress and criminalize the ongoing peaceful protests. It violates the civil and political rights of citizens and represents an aggressive effort by the Georgian Dream to consolidate authoritarianism.”
Human rights activists on freezing of NGO funds in Georgia
