Eka Gigauri is used to harsh words from the authorities about the anti-corruption work he is doing in Georgia. But when he saw his face on the posters, he accused him of being an agent of foreign influence, a traitor and a spy, and mocked him.
Gigauri, who heads one of the main anti-corruption campaign groups in Georgia, says he and many others are facing a new law, passed by the government through parliament.
The “foreign influence” law requires media, civil society organizations and non-profit organizations to register as “pursuing the interests of foreign powers” if they receive more than 20% of their income. of their money from abroad. It also makes them subject to stricter state scrutiny and heavy fines for non-compliance.
The government says the law is needed to stop dangerous actors from other countries who are trying to destroy the South Caucasus country of 3.7 million people. Many journalists and activists say their real aim is to undermine them and prevent debate before the elections scheduled for October. It could also threaten Georgia’s commitment to European Union membership.
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This story, sponsored by the Pulitzer Prize for Disaster Reporting, is part of an Associated Press series on threats to democracy in Europe.
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The law is similar to a similar law in Russia, where it has been used to suppress opposition activists, independent media and human rights activists. Georgian Dream, the country’s ruling party, passed the law in its second attempt.
In 2012, after years of turmoil, the Georgian Dream came to power. The party was founded by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy millionaire who became wealthy in Russia and briefly served as prime minister of Georgia. He has stayed out of the public eye since 2013.
Georgia’s Dream has promised to restore human rights and “restore” relations with Moscow. It also vowed to pursue EU membership and ties with the US, encouraging Georgians who looked to the West to protect them from their oppressive northern neighbour.
In August 2008, Russia fought a brief war with Georgia, which had made a strong effort to gain control over the breakaway province of South Ossetia. Moscow then recognized the independence of South Ossetia and another breakaway Georgian province, Abkhazia, and established military bases there.
In 2022, after Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, Georgia formally applied to join the EU. Support for EU membership was already high, but after the attack, polls showed almost 74% of Georgians were in favor.
Many in Georgia, with its long history of being ruled by Moscow, supported Ukraine as it fought off Russian aggression. But the Georgian government refused to intervene in sanctions against Russia, barred many Kremlin critics from entering the country, and accused the West of trying to drag Tbilisi into open conflict with Moscow.
Almost a year later, Georgia Dream began to put the “foreign influence” bill before the parliament. Weeks of protests followed, with police using tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protesters.
The EU made it clear that this bill, if passed, would damage the prospects of Georgian members. In March 2023, the draft law was withdrawn. In December, the EU granted Georgia candidate status, despite concerns about the rule of law.
In April 2024, Georgia Dream returned the bill to parliament and protesters returned to the streets. Georgia’s pro-EU President Salome Zourabichvili used her veto, but parliament overrode her with a simple majority, and the bill became law.
Rights advocates say the law is an imminent threat.
“By labeling independent groups and media as serving foreign interests, they (Georgia’s leadership) intend to undermine and stifle critical voices in the country that are essential for any functioning democracy, ” said Hugh Williamson of the advocacy group Human Rights Watch.
A day after the bill was introduced, Georgia’s Dream League presented proposals to ban media depictions of same-sex relationships and any public gatherings that support them.
Tamar Jakeli, head of the prominent LGBTQ+ rights group Tbilisi Pride, argues that both initiatives are part of the ruling party’s wider strategy to divide society.
“The West, the opposition, LGBT people, and civil society – we are all together, we have demons when we spread LGBT propaganda, we try to impose Western life, to erase Georgian culture,” said Jakeli, who immigrated at home for safety and security reasons. it carries pepper when it comes out.
Like the “foreign influence” bill, the proposed anti-LGBTQ+ provisions mirror Russian legislation. There have been rumors for months that Georgian Dream may be working on a deal with the Kremlin – something the party vehemently denies.
“The evidence that Russia is the power behind Ivanishvili – and the Georgian Dream – is, at this point, circumstantial. But it is compelling nonetheless,” James Nixey, director of Russia and Eurasia at the think tank London’s Chatham House, he wrote in a review in May.
Georgia’s pro-government media sounds a constant drumbeat of fear, warning of perceived Western efforts to destabilize Tbilisi and stoke tensions with Moscow.
In a speech on April 29 that surprised Tbilisi’s EU partners, Ivanishvili accused a “global war party” of secretly investing in Georgia through non-profit organizations, overthrowing the government and reforming Georgians to be “cannon fodder” in the war with Russia.
Maka Bochorishvili, a Georgian Dream lawyer who heads the parliament’s EU integration committee, told The Associated Press that the “external influence” law aims to ensure transparency.
He argued, without providing evidence, that some non-profit organizations are returning “illegal methods of government reform in Georgia,” and that as the elections are approaching, others have started it is like political parties.
Most of the organizations targeted by the new law are not prominent or influential people. Large groups like Gigauri’s Transparency International will face a similar level of scrutiny for smaller publications.
None of the journalists and activists who spoke to AP said their organizations would voluntarily participate in registering “foreign influence”. Gigauri called the decision “a matter of dignity.”
He said: “First of all, we are citizens and lovers of this country.
But the law says that the authorities can register their articles and organizations anyway. It also allows Georgia’s justice department to conduct a thorough investigation, which can take months of laptops and other equipment.
Nino Bakradze, whose investigative publication iFact.ge has spent years tracking foreign private companies, corruption and the impact on Georgians of major foreign investment projects, says this will stop their operation.
Taking the tools also means that the authorities can get valuable information from agency workers, sources, whistleblowers and those who come to them for help. In a country where far-right groups have been attacking Pride parades, this is a major concern for LGBTQ+ rights groups like Jakeli’s, many of which have received foreign funding.
Tbilisi’s development in recent decades, and its growing population, seemed to show that democracy can thrive in post-Soviet countries, threatening the Kremlin and other regional dictators.
In October, Georgia faces its next big test: parliamentary elections. Zaza Bibilashvili, an analyst at the Chavchavadze Center, a civil society group, said there was no hope of meaningful elections if the “foreign influence” law was used.
Like others, he described an atmosphere of fear and panic. Protesters have suffered many injuries which they allege were beatings by police or pro-government criminals. Gia Japaridze, a university lecturer and the brother of a senior opposition politician, told the AP that her attackers freely admitted she was targeted because of her criticism of the law on “international influence”. other”.
“Right now, we still have a community organization that is trying to survive. In October, we probably won’t have any of that. People will be arrested (or) deported,” said Bibilashvili.
In Tbilisi, protests against the foreign influence law have subsided as protesters turn their attention to upcoming elections. But many still take comfort in the spirit of gatherings that have attracted Georgians of all ages and backgrounds.
“I have never seen Georgian society so united,” said Giorgi Kikonishvili, an LGBTQ+ activist and group supporter in Tbilisi.
“Right now, things are sad, but at the same time, it’s a beautiful thing to watch,” he said.
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