Thread by @terjehelland

🇬🇪Georgian Dream (GD) just unveiled a barrage of new repressive laws that will further dismantle democracy and centralize power.
The road to authoritarian rule is no longer a possibility—it’s the plan.
🧵A breakdown of Georgia’s descent into dictatorship. 👇 1/21

Self-proclaimed leader Mdinaradze framed the changes as necessary to remove “inefficient” laws and replace them with tools that give the government “real leverage.” What does this mean in practice? Criminalizing dissent, silencing opposition, and total control.
2/21

The changes are designed to crush protests and free speech, and shield officials from accountability:
🔹Public calls for violence now carry a prison sentence of up to 3 yrs
🔹“Insulting officials” becomes a punishable offense
🔹Administrative detention extended from 15 to 60 days

GD is making it illegal to hold protests inside buildings without prior consent from the owner.
This means no more student protests in universities. No more civil disobedience inside public institutions. The regime is closing every avenue of resistance.
4/21

Police repression will be legally escalated:
🔹“Resisting, threatening, or attacking police” will be reclassified as a serious crime, punishable by 5 to 10 years in prison
🔹Even threatening a public servant will now be a criminal offense - meaning jail time

This is a direct attack on pro-EU protest movements. Every charge they’ve used against activists in the past—hooliganism, disobedience, vandalism—is now punishable with harsher fines, long detentions, or even imprisonment.
Geargian Dream is criminalizing opposition.
6/21

Mdinaradze: “No one will be allowed to carry out [liberal-]fascist outbursts without the state having a response.”
This rhetoric is straight out of the Kremlin playbook. The government is framing civil activism as extremism to justify repression.
7/21

https://x.com/terjehelland/status/1881413435277152444

But this isn’t just about crushing street protests. GD is openly moving to eliminate political opposition entirely.
They’ve long used the term “collective UNM” to lump together all opposition forces—regardless of party—into one big “enemy of the state.”
8/21

Lately, GD has demonized every opposition force—small and large—under the label of “collective UNM.” Now, they will use this commission to target all major opposition groups and brand them as criminals.
9/21

Now, they’re acting on it.
GD is launching a parliamentary commission to “investigate” the 2003-2012 government.
Translation?
A witch hunt against pro-Western opposition figures, paving the way to criminalize and deregister ALL major opposition parties.
10/21

This is NOT just about UNM.
Now, they will use this commissions "findings" to target all major opposition groups and brand them as criminals.
11/21

Back in 2021, GD threatened to ban UNM but didn’t follow through.
Now, with tighter control over law enforcement and the courts, they might actually eliminate Georgia’s biggest pro-Western party—and take down others with it.
12/21

The abolition of the Civil Service Bureau is another step in consolidating control.
This bureau helped ensure a professional, independent public service. Now, its responsibilities are being transferred to the Anti-Corruption Bureau—an agency fully controlled by GD.

The ACB is already being used to attack civil society.
The Venice Commission warned in 2023 that the bureau lacks independence and is vulnerable to government manipulation.
Now, it will have even more power over public officials—ensuring that only GD loyalists survive.

GD’s goal is clear: wipe out opposition, purge independent officials, and ensure absolute political control.
Even the Parliamentary Research Center is being abolished.
Why? Because knowledge is a threat. GD is erasing institutional oversight.
15/21

GD has already made a campaign promise to “make the political system healthy” by eliminating UNM and its affiliates—meaning anyone who opposes GD’s rule.
Now, they are delivering on that promise.
They will remove pro-Western opposition entirely.
16/21

Let’s be clear: GD knows exactly what they’re doing.
These authoritarian measures will isolate Georgia from the West.
GD is deliberately moving Georgia away from the EU and Council of Europe @coe.
17/21

But Georgian Dream doesn’t care—because they’ve chosen another path: aligning Georgia with Russia, China, and Iran.
Every move they make brings Georgia closer to Putin’s orbit.
The illusion of Euro-Atlantic integration is over.
18/21

This is the most dangerous moment for Georgia’s democracy since independence.
🔹Repression is being legalized
🔹Institutions are being dismantled
🔹Opposition is being eliminated
🔹Western integration is being sacrificed
19/21

GD’s fast-track repressive laws, institutional takeovers, and looming political crackdowns must not be ignored.
The international community needs to respond before Georgia is lost to the Russia-China-Iran axis for good.
20/21

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Source:
oc-media.org/georgian-dream…

Source:
civil.ge/archives/659043

Source:
civil.ge/archives/659174

Source:
civil.ge/archives/574938