Georgia’s Public Defender has filed a lawsuit with the country’s Constitutional Court, challenging multiple protest-related restrictions and associated administrative and criminal penalties adopted by the disputed parliament in 2025 amid ongoing anti-government protests.
The complaint, which targets provisions in the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations, the Administrative Offenses Code, and the Criminal Code of Georgia, follows a December announcement by Levan Ioseliani that his office planned to challenge anti-protest legislation adopted and used by authorities to crack down on dissent. Ioseliani cited, among others, proportionality concerns.
The complaint challenges “restrictions imposed on participants in assemblies and demonstrations” under Georgia’s Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations, the Public Defender’s Office said in a January 20 statement, “including a blanket ban on covering faces with masks or by any other means.”
The constitutional complaint also challenges penalties prescribed for these restrictions under the Administrative Offenses Code, including “both mandatory detention and the amount of fines,” the statement said.
The complaint further challenges the imposition of criminal liability for individuals who repeat administrative offenses. Under several amended provisions, repeat protest-related offenses, such as blocking roads or covering faces during rallies, can result in prison sentences of up to one year.
Over the past year, the ruling Georgian Dream party has introduced several legislative amendments that were widely believed to constitute a restriction on freedom of assembly and expression. Initial measures included steep fines for actions such as blocking roads or covering faces during protests. These penalties were later replaced with immediate detention.
In December, Georgian Dream MPs expanded the protest restrictions to include “obstructing the movement of people” in pedestrian areas and introduced stricter advance notice requirements for demonstrations.
The complaint is widely seen as unlikely to result in the repeal of the challenged provisions, as the Constitutional Court is broadly believed to be under the influence of the ruling party.
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