**Georgian Dream Accused of Suppressing Protests and Persecuting Activists**
Civil society organizations in Georgia are accusing the ruling party, Georgian Dream, of suppressing peaceful protests and persecuting activists by fabricating drug-related criminal charges.
According to CSOs, the government’s aim is to discredit the civic movement by targeting high-profile demonstrators with serious legal charges. During the November-December 2024 protests, four activists were charged with illegal possession and purchase of large quantities of narcotics.
**Similarities in Fabricated Cases**
At a press briefing on February 10, Eka Gigauri from Transparency International Georgia pointed out striking similarities in three of these cases. The alleged pattern includes:
* Investigations launched based on unverified information
* Searches conducted without court orders
* Testimonies provided solely by law enforcement officers and affiliated witnesses
* Absence of neutral observers or video recordings during searches
* Pretrial detention applied without proper justification
**Human Rights Concerns**
Sandro Baramidze, TI-Georgia’s Human Rights and Rule of Law Program Manager, stressed that the practice of ‘planting’ drugs on political activists remains a serious problem. He pointed to several cases in which Georgia lost at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on similar charges.
**List of Alleged Officials Involved**
Nino Lomjaria, founder of the civic platform Georgia’s European Orbit, publicly named individuals allegedly responsible for fabricating cases against activists. The list includes high-ranking officials from the Central Criminal Police Department, prosecutors, and judges who played direct roles in politically motivated prosecutions.
**Cases Remain Pending**
Akhobadze, Katsia, and Chechin remain in detention, and their cases are still pending. Human rights groups warn that these cases reflect a wider trend of state-led repression against Georgian civil society.
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