Since all state institutions in Georgia are controlled by the Georgian Dream regime, we call on international organizations to express a strict assessment of the political persecution of opposition politicians, former politicians, representatives of non-governmental organizations, journalists and representatives of other professions - in addition, we call on the OSCE/ODIHR to promptly begin monitoring the criminal trials of political prisoners in accordance with the appeal of the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, - reads the statement of some non-governmental organizations.

As stated in the statement, the NGOs call on international organizations to use the international and domestic legal mechanisms at their disposal to hold the Georgian Dream regime legally accountable for the massive human rights violations and violations of the principles of a democratic state.”

“The Georgian Dream regime is persecuting opposition politicians for refusing to appear before the illegitimate parliament’s unconstitutional investigative commission.

Through the sanctioned justice system, the regime is trying to undermine the protests ongoing in the country, forcibly legitimize the parliament, and eliminate democratic pro-Western opposition politicians from the field.”

Following the massive fraud in the 2024 parliamentary elections, all members of parliament, except for the representatives of the Georgian Dream, renounced their mandates and boycotted parliamentary activities. According to the OSCE/ODIHR observation mission, these elections were not competitive compared to previous parliamentary elections, and fundamental freedoms were not ensured. According to the report of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the violations identified in the October 26 elections affected the fairness of the electoral process and the legitimacy of the results.

In light of the above, in January 2025, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution calling for new parliamentary elections in Georgia. The European Parliament also made a similar call.

Within the framework of the illegitimate parliament, in violation of the requirements of the Georgian Constitution, the Georgian Dream regime created the so-called temporary investigative commission. According to the Constitution of Georgia, the opposition’s representation in the temporary commission should not be less than half of the total number of commission members. However, since no one except the Georgian Dream recognizes the legitimacy of the parliament, there is no opposition that would be represented in the investigation commission. Accordingly, the creation of a one-party temporary investigation commission is a direct violation of the Constitution of Georgia.

The aim of the unconstitutional temporary investigation commission is to cover up the criminal actions of the Georgian Dream regime with the criminal actions of the old government, while simultaneously carrying out information manipulations using propaganda methods. In addition, with this unconstitutional commission, the Georgian Dream creates an imitation that a certain political process or debate is taking place in an illegitimate parliament devoid of politics.

Opposition politicians, former politicians, representatives of non-governmental organizations, journalists and representatives of other professions were summoned within the framework of the illegitimate parliament’s unconstitutional commission.

People are summoned to the unconstitutional commission out of fear of criminal liability, so that the illegitimate parliament can acquire forced legitimacy through their appearance.

The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has initiated criminal prosecution against those individuals who did not appear at the illegitimate parliament’s unconstitutional commission – the agency has already applied to the court with a request to impose a preventive measure on them.

The goal of the above is to eliminate opposition members of parliament and individuals unacceptable to the Georgian Dream regime from political and public life. It is worth noting that the Prosecutor General of Georgia and the so-called clan leaders of the Georgian judiciary are sanctioned by the United Kingdom, the United States and various European states – the basis for the sanctions is the subordination of independent justice systems to the Georgian Dream and the massive violation of human rights.

In a resolution of April 10, 2025, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe condemned the creation of a parliamentary commission by the illegitimate parliament due to its broad powers. In addition, the Assembly expressed concern about the criminal prosecution of representatives of the opposition and civil society. It particularly noted the summoning of former members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to the commission due to their performance of their powers as members of the Parliamentary Assembly and noted that this action contradicts Georgia’s obligations to the Council of Europe.

In the context of the fact that all state institutions in Georgia are controlled by the Georgian Dream regime, we call on international organizations to express a strict assessment of the political persecution of opposition politicians, former politicians, representatives of non-governmental organizations, journalists and representatives of other professions. We also call on them to use the international and domestic legal mechanisms at their disposal to hold the Georgian Dream regime legally accountable for the massive human rights violations committed and the violation of the principles of a democratic state.

In addition, we call on the OSCE/ODIHR to promptly begin monitoring the criminal trials of political prisoners in accordance with the appeal of the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili,” reads the statement.

Signatory organizations: Human Rights Center – HRC; Democracy Research Institute – DRI; Democracy Defenders– DemDef; Europe-Georgia Institute – EGI; Economic Policy Research Center – EPRC; Tbilisi Pride; Center for Multiparty Democracy EEMCD; Green Alternative; Partnership for Human Rights – PHR; Prevention for Progress; Soviet Past Research Laboratory – SOVLAB; Transparency International Georgia – TI; Civic Idea; Civic Movement for Freedom; Civil Society Foundation – CSF; Georgian Young Lawyers Association – GYLA; Georgian Democratic Initiative – GDI; Georgian Reform Association; Georgian Future Academy; Sapari; Tolerance and Diversity Institute – TDI; Rights Georgia – RG; Women's Initiatives Supporting Group – WISG; Kvareli Euroclub; Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims – GCRT; Georgia’s Reform Association – GRASS.