According to Tazo Datunashvili, one of the leaders of Lelo – Strong Georgia, a database of people with mental health problems will serve as a repressive instrument.

In the opposition leader’s assessment, the launch of the database, planned for March 1, 2026, will reduce citizens’ willingness to seek medical help, consult psychologists, and participate in rehabilitation programs.

He said that there are no defined mechanisms for protecting personal data and medical confidentiality, which turns the system into an “instrument of political repression.”

He also expressed concern that the database could be used against political opponents, protest participants, and ordinary citizens, including during election periods.

“A regime oriented toward Turkmenistan and Iran has initiated new repressive changes. This time, the law targets one of the most vulnerable groups in society — people who have certain mental health issues or are dependent on various psychoactive substances. Beyond the violation of basic human rights, these changes also threaten data confidentiality and medical secrecy, and may become an effective tool of control in the hands of the authorities. This is yet another step toward a classic dictatorship.

The clearest example of countries with mental health registries is Russia. The Soviet Union was a country where mental illness and other conditions were stigmatized. Georgia has always been an exception in psychiatry, and even under Soviet totalitarianism nothing like what is now being initiated through this law ever happened. Specifically, it is proposed to create a unified database that will be established and controlled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs — the same ministry that takes no responsibility for violent crackdowns or poisonings, whose public trust has fallen to zero, and which is now expected to create this database.

The creation of this database is planned for March 1, 2026, which means that under such conditions fewer people will turn to doctors, fewer people will seek help from psychologists, and access to rehabilitation programs aimed at helping people overcome various addictions will be effectively eliminated. There are no defined rules for how personal data and medical confidentiality will be protected.

Secondly, this will become one of the instruments of political repression. Protest participants, ordinary citizens, political leaders, and anyone who disagrees with the regime or has a problem with it will be labeled as mentally ill or addicted to something — an approach that is catastrophic. Furthermore, it is unclear how the database will be used, for example, during election periods. We know that this is a country where the authorities use the database of socially vulnerable citizens against people and influence election results. This is a serious and regressive step that affects not only people with different political views, but everyone,” Datunashvili said.