According to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, she wrote to the Government of Georgia about the administrative charges against human rights defenders, but sadly the the Government did not respond.

“Now public: I wrote to the Government of Georgia about the administrative charges against human rights defenders, including WHRD Baia Pataraia, and the legal and administrative harassment of CSOs. Sadly the Government did not respond”, she wrote.

In addition, the UN Special Rapporteur shares on social media a message sent to the Georgian government on July 24, 2025, which was previously confidential.

“The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. Regrettably, the Government did not reply within this timeframe. If a reply is received it will be posted on the UN Special Procedures communications database.”

In a joint letter, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, express concern about the use of Article 173 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Georgia.

“On 11 June 2025, twenty activists, journalists and politicians were summoned for court hearings scheduled to take place the following day. These individuals, including Ms. Baia Pataraia, were accused of insulting members of the Georgian Dream Party through their Facebook posts. Ms. Pataraia’s lawyer was informed that she was charged under article 173 of the Administrative Offenses Code of Georgia. Thisrelatively new provision was introduced to the Administrative Offenses Code on 6 February 2025. We express serious concerns about its use to punish human rights defenders and journalists for their posts on social media,” reads the letter.