Joint submission to the Universal Periodic Review of Georgia by PEN Georgia, PEN International and PEN America

15 July 2025: Between 2021 and 2025, Georgian authorities enacted a wave of repressive laws severely restricting freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. Journalists, writers, artists, and activists have faced harassment, arbitrary detention, physical violence, and heavy fines. Media freedom and civil society have been undermined by “foreign agent” laws and censorship, while cultural institutions have been subjected to political interference.