{"id":17062,"date":"2024-10-08T15:52:12","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T15:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/?p=17062"},"modified":"2024-10-08T17:37:49","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T17:37:49","slug":"georgia-relentless-onslaught-on-fundamental-rights-condemned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2024\/10\/08\/georgia-relentless-onslaught-on-fundamental-rights-condemned.html","title":{"rendered":"Georgia: Relentless onslaught on fundamental rights condemned"},"content":{"rendered":"

PEN Belarus joins the\u00a0statement<\/a> of PEN International about onslaught on fundamental rights in Georgia.<\/p>\n

\u2018PEN International stands with Georgia\u2019s writers, journalists, and activists, as the authorities continue to borrow from the Kremlin\u2019s playbook by enacting Russia-style laws aimed at silencing all criticism and dismantling civil society. Such repressive legislations must be urgently repealed.\u2019 <\/em>Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International\u2019s Writers in Prison Committee.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a003 October 2024 \u2013 The Georgian authorities must stop their ever-growing onslaught on freedom of expression and other fundamental rights, PEN International and PEN Georgia said today, following the adoption of a Family Values bill that would notably prevent journalists from reporting on LGBTI issues and ban public gatherings that the law describes as \u2018promoting LGBT propaganda\u2019. The Georgian authorities must immediately take steps to amend, reform or repeal all laws that can be used to violate the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly, in line with Georgia\u2019s national and international human rights obligations.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0On 17 September 2024, Georgia\u2019s Parliament adopted<\/a> in its third reading a Family Values bill that seeks to amend 18 existing laws, including the Law on Freedom of Speech and Expression. The new amendments would prohibit broadcasters from disseminating content that \u2018promotes identification with a gender other than one\u2019s biological sex or relationships between individuals of the same biological sex based on sexual orientation\u2019, with penalties for individuals of 1,000 GEL (approximately \u20ac 350) and for legal entities of 3,000 GEL (approximately \u20ac 1,050). The amendments ban public gatherings or demonstrations that promote \u2018LGBT propaganda\u2019 and would further provide a legal basis for the authorities to censor<\/a> films and books. The bill generated a national<\/a> and international<\/a> outcry, with Georgia\u2019s President Salom\u00e9 Zourabichvili refusing<\/a> to endorse it and returning it to Parliament on 2 October. The Speaker of Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, a co-sponsor of the bill and member of the ruling Georgian Dream party, is expected to sign the bill into law and publish it within five days, as per Georgia\u2019s Constitution. The bill would come into force in 60 days, after the 26 October parliamentary elections.<\/p>\n

\u00a0This move is the latest in a series of Russia-style laws put forward by Georgia\u2019s Parliament in recent months, including the repressive \u2018foreign agents\u2019 law adopted<\/a> in May 2024 despite mass protests marred by police violence, and brutal assaults against peaceful protestors by unknown individuals. Under this law, organisations receiving more than 20% of annual funding from sources outside Georgia \u2013 including PEN Georgia \u2013 must register as \u2018organisations pursuing the interests of a foreign power\u2019 and they face draconian reporting requirements<\/a>. The law further authorises Georgia\u2019s Ministry of Justice to conduct \u2018thorough investigations\u2019 to ensure the organisations comply.<\/p>\n

Georgia\u2019s Constitution guarantees the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. Georgia is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights\u202f(ICCPR) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and therefore has obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the rights set out in these treaties. PEN International and PEN Georgia urge the Georgian authorities to stop flouting their domestic and international human rights obligations, and to immediately repeal and amend all laws stiffing free expression, starting with the \u2018foreign agents\u2019 law and the Family Value bill. Attempts to introduce further Russian-style laws to stifle independent voices in Georgia must end at once.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Note to editors:<\/strong><\/p>\n

For further details contact Aur\u00e9lia Dondo,<\/strong> Head of Europe and Central Asia Region at PEN International:\u202fAurelia.dondo@pen-international.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PEN Belarus joins the\u00a0statement of PEN International about onslaught on fundamental rights in Georgia. \u2018PEN International stands with Georgia\u2019s writers, journalists, and activists, as the authorities continue to borrow from the Kremlin\u2019s playbook by enacting Russia-style laws aimed at silencing all criticism and dismantling civil society. Such repressive legislations must be urgently repealed.\u2019 Ma Thida,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":17063,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4201],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solidarity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17062"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17067,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17062\/revisions\/17067"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}