{"id":20823,"date":"2025-11-11T22:07:39","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T22:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/?p=20823"},"modified":"2025-11-11T22:14:49","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T22:14:49","slug":"georgia-latest-wave-of-arrests-condemned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2025\/11\/11\/georgia-latest-wave-of-arrests-condemned.html","title":{"rendered":"Georgia: Latest wave of arrests condemned"},"content":{"rendered":"

PEN Belarus joins the\u00a0statement<\/a> of PEN International about Georgia.<\/p>\n

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\u2018The Georgian people have the right to peacefully assemble to demand change, yet the authorities are clearly determined to suppress fundamental rights and dissent. We stand with the many writers and artists detained for peacefully expressing their views and call upon the international community to take urgent and strong action in holding Georgia to account,\u2019 said Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International\u2019s Writers in Prison Committee.<\/strong><\/p>\n

11 November 2025 \u2013 The Georgian authorities must uphold the right to peaceful assembly and release all those held solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful protest, PEN International and PEN Georgia said today. New restrictions on public gatherings have seen dozens of protesters arrested in recent days \u2013 including writers, journalists and artists.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On 16 October 2025, Georgia enacted new amendments<\/a> to the Administrative Offenses and Criminal Codes pertaining to the Law on Assemblies and Manifestations. Adopted by Georgia\u2019s parliament through an expedited procedure, without public discussion, the amendments introduce harsher penalties for taking part in protests. Covering one\u2019s face with a mask or other means during protests, intentionally obstructing movement of people or transport, erecting an unsafe or obstructive structure during a demonstration, and partial or complete blockage of a roadway are now punishable by up to 15 days of administrative detention (20 days for organisers). Participating in a banned gathering or demonstration carries up to 60 days of administrative detention. Repeated offenses would trigger up to one year in prison. Individuals who repeatedly insult or disobey law enforcement officials may also face up to one year in prison.<\/p>\n

Civil society organisations including PEN Georgia and the Georgian Book Association condemned<\/a> the latest amendments as an attempt by the ruling Georgian Dream party to eradicate all dissent. Several cultural figures have been sentenced to administrative detention in recent days for taking part in peaceful protests, including writer Beka Kurkhuli, journalists Vakho Sanaia and Keta Tsitskishvili, artist Levan Margiani and writer and publisher Zviad Kvaratskhelia. On 5 November 2025, acclaimed poet and former President of PEN Georgia, Paata Shamugia, was sentenced<\/a> to five days of administrative detention for \u2018blocking the roadway\u2019 on Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi\u2019s main street. Shamugia previously wrote<\/a> about the critical role of writers in upholding fundamental rights in Georgia.<\/p>\n

PEN International and PEN Georgia further express concern about mounting inspections by the State Anti-Corruption Bureau against independent civil society and media organisations under the amended Law on Grants<\/a>, adopted in April 2025. The repressive amendments, which require prior government approval for receiving foreign funding, have been criticised by national<\/a> and international organisations<\/a> for \u2018enabling arbitrary state interference\u2019 and \u2018stifling civic freedoms and limiting civil society\u2019s ability to monitor, speak out, and hold power accountable \u2013 a direct threat to Georgia\u2019s democratic future.\u2019 Several organisations supporting media freedom have been targeted since September, including Project 64, Mtis Ambebi (Mountain Stories), Realpolitik, Eye Fact, the Charter of Journalistic Ethics,\u202fand Indigo Media.<\/p>\n

As the pervasive onslaught<\/a> unleashed by the Georgian authorities against independent voices continues unabated, PEN International and PEN Georgia call upon the authorities to immediately end the crackdown and repeal draconian laws undermining freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. The international community must hold Georgia accountable for its human rights violations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Note to editors:<\/strong><\/p>\n

For further details contact Aur\u00e9lia Dondo,<\/strong> Head of Europe and Central Asia Region at PEN International<\/p>\n

For media queries, please contact\u202fSabrina Tucci<\/strong>, Communications and Campaigns Manager at PEN International<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PEN Belarus joins the\u00a0statement of PEN International about Georgia. \u2018The Georgian people have the right to peacefully assemble to demand change, yet the authorities are clearly determined to suppress fundamental rights and dissent. We stand with the many writers and artists detained for peacefully expressing their views and call upon the international community to take<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":20824,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4201],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solidarity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20823"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20827,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20823\/revisions\/20827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}