The Helsinki Commission will hold a briefing on the current situation in Georgia. The relevant information is posted on the commission's website.

According to the commission, the briefing, titled "Georgian Dream’s escalating crackdown on dissent," will be held on January 28 at 11:00 p.m. Tbilisi time.

“Since October 2024, Georgian Dream, Georgia’s ruling party, has plunged Georgia into its worst human rights crisis since independence. They have passed more than 20 new laws that expand state power to suppress dissent and strip the judiciary of its independence.

The crackdown has swept up civil society, journalists, and political opposition alike. Authorities have frozen the bank accounts of organizations providing legal aid to protesters, arrested journalists, and summoned opposition figures for sham proceedings, jailing them for refusing to recognize their legitimacy. Peaceful protest now results in steep fines and lengthy prison sentences.

This briefing will examine the deteriorating human rights situation, Georgian Dream’s evolving tactics to punish and demoralize dissenters, and paths forward for Georgia”, reads the information.

The panelists will be: Dr. Claire Kaiser, senior managing director, McLarty Associates Laura Thornton, senior director, Global Democracy Programs, McCain Institute Olesya Vartanyan, researcher, George Mason University.