The Georgian Dream party has passed a series of laws aimed at taking a more restrictive approach to protesters, Austrian MP Petra Bayr said during a debate on Georgia at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

She said the political situation in Georgia is getting worse.

According to the 2024 Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index, Georgia is experiencing the fourth-worst decline in democracy in the world and the steepest decline in the South Caucasus region. Protests demanding new elections have been ongoing for more than 200 days.

The Georgian Dream-led government has imposed a series of repressive measures, including restrictive legislative changes, increased criminal prosecutions and sometimes harsh sentences against demonstrators, civil society and prominent opposition figures. There are only small signs that the protests will ultimately lead to political change,” she said.

According to the politician, the most high-profile case in the country is the arrest of Mzia Amaglobeli, who was arrested for slapping a police officer.

“The most high-profile case of imprisonment in the country to date has been the arrest of Ms. Mzia Amaglobeli, the founder and director of an independent media outlet. She was arrested in Batumi for putting up a protest sticker and allegedly slapping a police officer.

The Georgian Dream party has passed a number of laws aimed at taking a more restrictive approach to protesters. These include increasing fines and prison sentences and even introducing new criminal offenses, such as treason. For example, in December 2024, the administrative fine for blocking a road was increased from the equivalent of 180 euros to 1,800 euros, which simply aims to distract people from defending their fundamental rights.

Our response must be clear. There is a red line in our shared values, and arresting people for wanting to exercise their fundamental human rights, such as freedom of expression and freedom of speech, is absolutely unacceptable.

We must not lose hope and try to put even more pressure on them to make them hold new elections, investigate the violent acts against activists and demonstrators, peaceful demonstrators and, of course, release all political prisoners,” she said.