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Persecuted in Georgia: protests, fines, 'foreign agents'

Right now

  1. Record injuries at once: doctor, photos, complaint.
  2. Appeal every ruling and keep video.
  3. Note: foreigners, including Russians, risk expulsion for protesting, sometimes to Russia.

Only for people who are now in: GeorgiaWrite to Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA) Another country: who helps (8)

Draft: not yet checked by a lawyerThe guides below are drafts: a lawyer has not reviewed them yet. This is not legal advice.

Draft What human rights defenders advise

Persecuted in Georgia: protests and 'foreign agents'
  • Blocking a road: a 5,000 lari fine and up to 60 days' detention; with unpaid fines, a repeat offence can mean jail. Rights groups advise appealing every ruling and keeping video.
  • Beatings during arrests are common. Record injuries at once: doctor, photos, complaint. This is the basis for a future ECHR case.
  • An 'unauthorised' foreign grant can mean up to 6 years in prison, applied retroactively; 12 NGOs have had accounts frozen. Lawyers advise reviewing all of an organisation's grants in advance.
  • Foreigners, including Russians, risk expulsion for taking part in protests, and for some that means being sent to Russia.
  • Where to turn: the Transparency International Georgia legal centre (its parent, Transparency International, is 'undesirable' in Russia: if you travel to Russia, contacting it could become grounds for a case), GYLA (strategic cases), Human Rights Center; human rights defenders: Front Line Defenders.

current as of 26 September 2026. More: HRW: new laws devastate civic groups; HRW: laws that criminalise peaceful protest

Who helps

8 organisations · contacts checked against the organisations' sites 26 September 2026

Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA)

One of Georgia's oldest human rights groups: strategic litigation, defence of people detained at protests, ECHR applications.

Since 14 March 2026 its general free legal aid is suspended: GYLA runs in 'crisis mode' and takes only strategic cases. Staff has been cut and the Batumi office closed. For a free consultation, try the Transparency International Georgia legal centre.

Georgia
Get in touch gyla.ge

Front Line Defenders

Emergency support for human rights defenders at risk: protection grants, secure contact, publicity and advocacy after detention.

For people targeted for peaceful human rights work, including activists and journalists.

Other ways to reach them: protection grants

worldwide
Get in touch frontlinedefenders.org

Transparency International Georgia

Free legal consultations at its legal centres in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi and Zugdidi; monitors the prosecution of protesters and NGOs.

The legal centre advises members of the public; ask whether they take foreigners' cases. The parent organisation, Transparency International, has been 'undesirable' in Russia since March 2023: if you travel to Russia, contacting it could become grounds for a case.

Other ways to reach them: +995 322 921403 · info@transparency.ge (a call stays in the phone log and with the operator)

Georgia
Get in touch transparency.ge

Human Rights Center (HRIDC)

Georgian human rights group since 1996: free court representation for victims, protest monitoring, protection of journalists and defenders.

The site is updated (statement from July 2026), but we could not confirm the free legal aid service is running now. Please check.

Other ways to reach them: Facebook

Georgia
Get in touch hrc.ge

Equality Movement

The largest LGBTQ+ community organisation in the South Caucasus: lawyer, psychologist, social worker, doctor, HIV testing.

Georgia has had an anti-'LGBT propaganda' law since 2024. The latest publication on the site is from May 2026 (annual report); check that services are running.

Georgia
Get in touch equality.ge

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