Thread by @terjehelland

🇬🇪The OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism report on Georgia is out.
It is one of the most serious international assessments of the country’s democratic trajectory in years.
Here are the key findings policymakers should understand ⬇️
1/21

The report concludes that Georgia has undergone marked democratic backsliding since spring 2024.
2/21

It identifies a pattern that includes:
🔹violence against protesters and journalists
🔹impunity for perpetrators
🔹restrictive laws targeting civil society and media
🔹prosecutions against opposition leaders
🔹shrinking political pluralism.
3/21

2024 parliamentary elections, the report highlights serious concerns raised by international observers:
🔹pressure on voters, especially public sector employees
🔹voter tracking practices
🔹compromised ballot secrecy
🔹unequal campaign conditions
4/21

These issues cast doubt on whether the process fully reflected voters’ will.
5/21

The report also raises concerns about the 2025 local elections.
They were held in an environment already shaped by repression, with some opposition parties boycotting and limited election observation after Georgia failed to invite a full monitoring mission in time.
6/21

A major focus of the report is legislation targeting civil society.
It calls for repeal of laws such as:
🔹the “Transparency of Foreign Influence” law
🔹the new “foreign agents” framework (FARA)
🔹restrictions on foreign grants.
7/21

According to the rapporteur, these laws stigmatize NGOs, discourage donors, and weaken independent oversight of government power.
8/21

The report notes that Georgian officials and pro-government media routinely portray critics as “traitors,” “foreign agents,” “enemies of the state,” or part of a so-called “Global War Party.”
This rhetoric is part of a broader campaign to intimidate and stigmatize dissent.
9/21

Media freedom is another major concern.
Restrictions on funding, combined with intimidation and attacks on journalists, have created what the report describes as a hostile environment for critical reporting.
10/21

One of the most serious sections concerns the policing of protests.
The report documents allegations of:
🔹beatings during arrest and detention
🔹rubber bullets fired at close range
🔹tear gas in confined spaces
🔹degrading treatment of detainees.
11/21

Some of these cases, the report warns, may amount to torture or ill-treatment under international law if confirmed by investigations.
12/21

Equally troubling is impunity.
Investigations into police violence and attacks on protesters and journalists have been slow or ineffective, raising serious concerns about accountability.
13/21

The report also describes attacks by unidentified groups targeting activists, journalists and opposition figures.
Even where coordination with authorities cannot be proven, the lack of effective investigations is deeply concerning.
14/21

Another major issue is the campaign against the opposition.
The report highlights criminal cases against opposition leaders and attempts to ban major opposition parties.
15/21

According to the rapporteur, these developments threaten political pluralism itself, a core element of democratic governance.
16/21

The report also raises concerns about judicial independence.
Issues include concentration of power in judicial governance bodies and procedural problems in politically sensitive cases.
17/21

The recommendations are clear:
🔹repeal restrictive laws targeting NGOs and media
🔹end politically motivated prosecutions
🔹investigate police violence
🔹restore judicial independence.
18/21

It also calls on OSCE states and the international community to maintain scrutiny and consider further measures, including sanctions and expanded monitoring.
19/21

The OSCE report does not describe isolated incidents.
It describes a systemic dismantling of democratic safeguards.
Georgia is moving away from pluralistic democracy toward a managed authoritarian system - a trajectory that increasingly resembles a slide toward dictatorship.
/21

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Source:
"Report on developments in Georgia in respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms since Spring 2024"
odihr.osce.org/odihr/662725