The rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly were severely curtailed. Repressive legislation, unfair trials and police impunity for unlawful use of force fuelled an ongoing government crackdown, according to Amnesty International report - The State of the World’s Human Rights.

According to the report, peaceful protesters, journalists, opposition figures and activists were subjected to arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment, leading to unfair trials.

“Human rights defenders, NGOs and independent media faced ongoing harassment including asset freezes and regulatory pressure. Women protesters endured gender-based violence.”

“Responding to the wave of protests, Georgian Dream pushed through a series of repressive laws. The party used its political influence to cement control and weaponize law enforcement, the judiciary and oversight bodies as tools of political retaliation. The purge extended across all state institutions, with widespread dismissals of civil servants and officials deemed sympathetic to the protests.

Hundreds of people continued to protest daily, facing intimidation, heavy fines, arbitrary detention, ill-treatment and unfair trials. Overwhelmingly peaceful protests were repeatedly met with unlawful force, which escalated tensions, leading to isolated incidents of violence, mostly in reaction to police aggression.

In an attempt to suppress the ongoing protests, legislative amendments introduced at the end of 2024 had imposed large fines for peaceful protest actions such as wearing a mask or blocking a road. These were followed on 17 October by a new, sweeping package of laws that further curtailed the right to peaceful assembly. Law enforcement officials were granted broad powers to imprison people for peaceful acts of protest including covering one’s face, setting up tents or blocking roads. These were punishable by up to 15 days’ detention – or 20 days for organizers – with repeat offences carrying up to two years in prison. The authorities began systematically targeting activists, journalists and opposition supporters, conducting searches and confiscating protest materials. More than 100 arrests were carried out in the week following the adoption of the laws.

Masked officers routinely beat detainees during arrests and in detention. Unidentified men in plain clothes – some armed and apparently linked to the authorities – intimidated and assaulted protesters and journalists with police complicity, including near their homes and workplaces. Many of those detained were denied access to lawyers, relatives or urgent medical care while in custody. Saba Skhvitaridze, arrested on 5 December 2024, was sentenced on 3 September to two years in prison for allegedly causing bodily harm to a police officer. He described how he was questioned without a lawyer and repeatedly tortured by masked officers. Despite medical evidence of injuries sustained in custody, no effective investigation had been carried out by the end of the year.

Throughout the year, police continued to use unlawful force to disperse predominantly peaceful protesters, including tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon. Hundreds of protesters reported sustaining serious injuries, including fractures and concussions, and over 100 journalists were wounded.

Police violence escalated following the 4 October post-election protests, during which some participants attempted to enter the presidential compound. In response, special forces carried out militarized raids, using excessive force and arresting more than 60 protesters in their homes. Despite widespread reports of violence and ill-treatment, by the end of the year not a single police officer or pro-government assailant had been held accountable. In December, the authorities opened an investigation into allegations by the BBC that prohibited toxic chemicals had been deployed in water cannons against protesters. Rather than addressing the allegations, the inquiry sought to intimidate experts and witnesses who had contributed relevant evidence to the BBC’s report”, reads the report.