Georgia's Imedi TV accuses NGOs of using protective gear as weapons in a violent manner.

The Caucasus region is experiencing changes, and these alterations have sparked a response from various quarters, including the civil society sector in Georgia. Recently, the Prosecutor General's Office initiated investigations against seven civil society organizations, alleging charges of sabotage, attempted sabotage, and aiding and abetting hostile activities.

Among the targeted organizations are the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), the Civil Society Foundation, the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), the Social Justice Centre (SJC), and Sapari. The Georgian Democratic Initiative (GDI) and Democracy Defenders also had their accounts frozen.

The Prosecutor General's Office claimed that the ongoing anti-government protests were gradually transformed into confrontations with police forces, with a deliberate character. They alleged that it was the result of calls by opposition party leaders and certain NGO heads for mass disobedience and nationwide resistance.

However, civil society representatives have dismissed these allegations as unfounded. Levan Natroshvili, the executive director of ISFED, called the Prosecutor General's Office's allegations 'complete nonsense' and clarified that the organization had purchased protective equipment for its staff participating in or monitoring the protests. Keti Khutsishvili, chair of the Civil Society Foundation, confirmed that her organization did purchase protective gear, but it was for journalists covering the protests.

Giorgi Mshvenieradze, chair of the Democracy Defenders, mocked Imedi's reports, stating that if they had purchased additional equipment, it would have been destroyed by now. Critics of Georgian Dream, both domestically and internationally, widely condemned the freezing of civil society organizations' accounts.

Independent voices in journalism are under threat, as evident by the recent actions against journalist Gela Mtivlishvili, a founder of the independent media outlet Mtis Ambebi, who confirmed using equipment provided by the foundation during the protests.

The investigations against these organizations on allegations of sabotage were initiated by authorities associated with the judiciary, likely involving the justice ministry or related legal and intelligence bodies. Imedi published 'exclusively obtained' purchase documents to support this claim.

Notably, more than 50 other Georgian organizations expressed solidarity with those targeted with account freezes. Opposition parties in Georgia also condemned the punitive measure. Critics abroad, including US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Congressperson Joe Wilson, MEP Rasa Juknevičienė, and Swedish MP Gustaf Göthberg, joined in the criticism.

Amnesty International issued a statement, noting that the Georgian authorities are sabotaging the human rights of the population. The targeted organizations called the authorities 'the enemies of the Georgian people', alleging that they seek to prevent civil society from defending the rights of vulnerable groups.

As a countermeasure, a newsroom is being built by a community of readers to respond to this threat. The Georgian pro-government TV channel, Imedi, has published a list of basic protective equipment purchased by six leading civil society groups. The criminal charges on which the investigation is based carry long prison sentences, raising concerns about the future of Georgian civil society.

Georgia's Imedi TV accuses NGOs of using protective gear as weapons in a violent manner.