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Georgia's Constitutional Court. Official photo.

Democracy

Georgian Constitutional Court declines to suspend foreign agent law

by OC Media

•2 min read

The Constitutional Court of Georgia has declined a motion to suspend the foreign agent law pending a final ruling on its constitutionality. On Wednesday, the court announced it had agreed to hear the case against the law, more than a month after four separate lawsuits against it were filed and merged into one appeal. According to their decision, none of the law’s articles will be suspended until the case is resolved. Two of the eight judges, Giorgi Kverenchkhiladze and Teimuraz Tughushi,

Georgia’s Ministry of Justice. Official photo.

Freedom of Expression

Georgia registers first organisations as foreign agents

by OC Media

•2 min read

The Georgian government has begun registering organisations as foreign agents in its public registry, two months after launching the online registration portal. The Ministry of Justice added five organisations to the database on Monday, with at least six more being added on Tuesday. The first five were the Ukrainian Youth Organisation of Georgia-Svitanok, the Professional Union of Farmers and Agricultural Workers of Georgia, the Kutaisi Youth Home, the Union of Christians, and the Jewish

Aleksandre Samkharadze. Image via RFE/RL.

Freedom of Expression

Target of Georgian MP orange attack fined for provoking attack

by OC Media

•2 min read

A man who filmed a Georgian MP stealing and throwing an orange at him has been fined for provoking the attack, by insulting MPs over their support of the foreign agent law. Aleksandre Samkharadze, 29, was fined ₾1,000 ($370) on Monday. He was charged with petty hooliganism after publishing footage of himself hurling insults at MPs leaving parliament after they overruled President Salome Zourabichvili’s veto of the controversial law on 28 May. In the footage, Samkharadze is heard shouting ‘ra

OC Media editor-in-chief Robin Fabbro and executive director Mariam Nikuradze covering a pro-EU rally in Tbilisi in June 2022. Photo: Tata Shoshiashvili/OC Media.

Democracy

OC Media refuses to register as ‘foreign agent’ in Georgia as government deadline passes

by OC Media

•2 min read

OC Media has refused to register with the Georgian Government as an organisation ‘carrying out the interests of a foreign power’ after the deadline to do so passed on Monday. OC Media, a regional news platform registered and headquartered in Georgia, joins a majority of local media and non-governmental organisations in boycotting the controversial legislation. OC Media co-founder and executive director Mariam Nikuradze stated that registering in the database ‘would go against our mission’

A protester holds a sign saying ‘No to the Russian law’ outside Georgia’s parliament on 14 May 2024. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

Democracy

Georgian Government begins establishing registry for foreign agents

by OC Media

•2 min read

Georgia’s Ministry of Justice has issued a bylaw establishing a department responsible for registering and monitoring organisations labelled foreign agents ahead of the law’s implementation in the coming months. The Justice Ministry published the bylaw on Monday. It stipulates that the newly created Financial Reporting Department was added to the National Agency of Public Registry. The department will be responsible for registering organisations labelled as ‘carrying out the interests of a

Image via president.ge; Background: constcourt.ge.

Democracy

Georgian President takes foreign agent law to constitutional court

by Shota Kincha

•3 min read

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has mounted a challenge against the controversial foreign agent law in the constitutional court, arguing that the bill is anti-European, therefore unconstitutional. Zourabichvili’s representatives submitted the appeal to the Court on Monday evening. It argues that the foreign agent law was in breach of Article 78 of Georgia’s constitution, which obliges constitutional bodies to ‘take all measures within the scope of their competences to ensure the full i

Bidzina Ivanishvili. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

Democracy

Ivanishvili ‘sends personal envoy’ to Washington amidst growing reports of sanctions against Georgian officials

by OC Media

•3 min read

The founder and honorary chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, has reportedly sent an ‘envoy’ to Washington amidst increasing reports of Georgian officials being hit with sanctions. On Sunday, former Georgian Dream prime minister and current head of the opposition For Georgia party, Giorgi Gakharia, claimed that Ivanishvili had sent a high-level official as a ‘personal envoy’ to Washington. ‘Bidzina Ivanishvili has sent one of the representatives of the Georgian g