Tbilisi risks spiraling into political isolation as the ruling Georgian Dream party wages a “coordinated” campaign against civil society, independent media, and the right to protest, Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned in its latest global assessment.
In its World Report 2026, released on Feb. 3, the international watchdog revealed that Georgia’s human rights record underwent a “sharp deterioration” throughout 2025. The report paints a grim picture of a nation once seen as a democratic frontrunner in the Caucasus, now backsliding into authoritarianism under a barrage of repressive legislation.
HRW points to the infamous “foreign agents” law and draconian amendments to the Law on Grants as being at the heart of the democratic collapse, stating that such measures were explicitly designed to “decimate” the country’s vibrant civil society and silence any media outlet critical of the government.
“The measures go against Georgia’s human rights commitments on freedoms of expression, assembly, and association, as well as on equality and non-discrimination,” the report states. It adds: “New ‘foreign agents’ legislation… requires organizations and individuals receiving foreign funding to register in the state registry and imposes onerous reporting obligations under threat of criminal prosecution” – further noting that the government has ignored repeated warnings from the international community.
In addition, HRW documented widespread use of excessive police force (including documented cases of torture and ill-treatment), use of mass arrests, inspections, the freezing of bank accounts to paralyze activists, and the jailing of opposition figures and journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli, whose conviction HRW labels as purely “politically motivated.”
Turning its back on Europe
The crackdown has had a predictable – and devastating – impact on Georgia’s foreign policy. The report highlights that these repressions have “deepened Georgia’s political isolation from the European Union,” effectively stalling the country’s aspirations for Western integration.
While Georgian Dream continues to tighten its legislative grip as of early 2026, the HRW report serves as a stark reminder: the path the government has chosen is diametrically opposed to the European values the Georgian public has long fought for.