Georgian Dream Approves Stricter Penalties for Protest-Related Offenses

The Georgian Dream parliament has approved a legislative package that increases penalties for offenses related to protests.

The package, endorsed unanimously by Georgian Dream MPs, amends the Administrative Offenses Code and the Criminal Code to increase fines and allow immediate detention for some of the protest-related violations, The Caspian Post reports citing Georgian media.

The move comes after unrest in the capital on October 4, election day, and follows the ruling party’s pledge to end the anti-government and pro-EU protests on Tbilisi’s main Rustaveli Avenue, where demonstrators have been blocking the street nightly for more than 320 days.

Civil society organizations have warned that the changes aim to “ban peaceful protest,” while Georgian Dream PM Irakli Kobakhidze and other ruling party officials defended the amendments, saying a small group of people on Rustaveli Avenue should not be allowed to “oppress” the majority by blocking the street every night and that the previous fines were ineffective.