Georgia: Alarming Human Rights Crisis Highlighted by Writers’ Groups

24 July 2025: The Georgian authorities are crushing the right to freedom of expression and other fundamental freedoms at an alarming speed, PEN Georgia, PEN International and PEN America said today. PEN’s joint submission to the UN Human Rights Council lays bare the relentless and pervasive onslaught unleashed by the Georgian authorities against independent voices and urges UN Member States to take strong action in holding Georgia to account.

Georgia’s human rights record will come under review by the UN Human Rights Council during the Universal Period Review (UPR) in January 2026. Ahead of the review, PEN Georgia, PEN International, and PEN America have made a submission to the UN documenting severe violations to the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly over the last four years. The safety of writers, journalists and artists remains a grave concern, with inefficient investigations into mounting cases of threats and attacks, including by law enforcement officials. Government intimidation, harassment, and interference in the work of critical voices in the cultural sphere continues unabated.

‘The Georgian authorities have weaponized the criminal justice system and unleashed an unprecedented legislative assault on fundamental rights in a bid to crush all dissent. PEN’s UPR submission exposes the sheer scale and speed of the onslaught, with independent media and civil society now standing on the brink of survival. We call upon the Georgian Dream party to immediately end the crackdown and urgently repeal draconian laws undermining freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly’, said Khatuna Tskhadadze, PEN Georgia President.

‘Mass protests in Georgia continue to be met with unlawful use of force by police, resulting in brutal injuries amongst the protestors, unjustified arrests and sentencing following unfair trials, and the deliberate targeting of journalists – with complete impunity. Among those detained are veteran journalist Mzia Amaglobeli and acclaimed poet and translator Zviad Ratiani, who face years in prison on grossly disproportionate grounds on account of their activism. We urge their immediate release’, said Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee.

‘The Georgian authorities have deliberately targeted individuals in the cultural sphere who dared express views at odds with the government’s line. We stand with Georgia’s writers, artists and cultural experts and urge the authorities to uphold the independence and vibrancy of Georgian culture’, said Liesl Gerntholtz, Managing Director of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center at PEN America.

PEN Georgia, PEN International and PEN America call on the UN Human Rights Council and its Member States to hold Georgia accountable for its human rights violations. Detailed concerns and concrete recommendations that States must direct to Georgia during the upcoming UPR in January 2026 can be found in the full submission here.