{"id":18701,"date":"2025-03-26T11:01:18","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T11:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/?p=18701"},"modified":"2025-03-26T11:22:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T11:22:00","slug":"statement-of-the-human-rights-house-tbilisi-and-its-member-organizations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/2025\/03\/26\/statement-of-the-human-rights-house-tbilisi-and-its-member-organizations.html","title":{"rendered":"Statement of the Human Rights House Tbilisi and its Member Organizations"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PEN Belarus stands in solidarity with the Human Rights House Tbilisi<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Statement of the Human Rights House Tbilisi and its Member Organizations about the Freezing of the Accounts of the Human Rights House Tbilisi and the Investigation Launched by the General Prosecutor\u2019s Office of \u201cGeorgian Dream\u201d<\/h5>\n

We respond to the investigation initiated by the General Prosecutor\u2019s Office of \u201cGeorgian Dream,\u201d within the framework of which the bank accounts of several organizations and funds, including those of the Human Rights House Tbilisi (HRHT), have been frozen.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, we received the City Court\u2019s ruling on this matter. In our assessment, both the investigation conducted by the Prosecutor\u2019s Office and the ruling on the freezing of accounts are unfounded and illegal. This represents yet another targeted attack by the illegitimate regime of Georgian Dream against human rights organizations and defenders, clearly aimed at further restricting human rights work in the country. We consider the payment of fines by a human rights organization as an expression of solidarity. Solidarity and the protection of people from poverty are integral parts of Georgian culture and tradition.<\/p>\n

HRHT began collecting donations to support individuals fined under administrative procedures during peaceful protests and to cover their fines after the initiation of the so-called \u201cRussian Law.\u201d<\/p>\n

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  • To cover the fine, the individual personally fills out the relevant application, which is publicly available on HRHT\u2019s website.<\/li>\n
  • HRHT pays the administrative fine only if a court ruling has entered into legal force, based on an agreement signed with the beneficiary.<\/li>\n
  • The funds are transferred directly from the bank account of HRHT to the state budget, in full compliance with all legal requirements. This includes the payment of income tax on behalf of each beneficiary. The state has full access to all transactions and the intents of the organization\u2019s funds.<\/li>\n
  • Georgian legislation does not prohibit the payment of fines on behalf of another person. Therefore, this action by a human rights organization represents an expression of solidarity with the beneficiary and serves as a means of protecting their rights.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    HRHT has currently covered 365 administrative fines amounting to 843,747 GEL. Since the spring of 2024, we have received 921,336.99 GEL in donations from hundreds of individuals. Among these, in the past two months alone, we received 300,000 GEL in donations from \u201cTBC Bank\u201d and \u201cBank of Georgia.\u201d<\/p>\n

    At present, around 100 individuals have submitted requests for fine coverage. If these fines are not paid, they face the risk of asset seizure.<\/p>\n

    HRHT was founded in 2010 with the support of the Norwegian organization \u201cHuman Rights House Foundation\u201d by five non-governmental organizations, including \u201cRights Georgia\u201d (formerly \u201cArticle 42 of the Constitution\u201d), \u201cHuman Rights Center\u201d, \u201cSapari\u201d, and \u201cGeorgian Center for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (GCRT)\u201d. The organization is a member of the International Network of Human Rights Houses and a member of the EU Temporary Relocation Platform (EUTRP).<\/p>\n

    According to its charter, the organization\u2019s primary goals are the protection and empowerment of human rights defenders, as well as strengthening human rights organizations and groups.<\/p>\n

    For over a decade, in collaboration with the Human Rights Houses Network and other international partners, HRHT has been implementing Human Rights Defenders\u2019 Protection Program, which provides psycho-social, legal, and other essential services to human rights defenders.<\/p>\n

    Our activities fully comply with the Constitution and legislation of Georgia, as well as internationally recognized standards. We work to strengthen Georgian civil society and protect their rights, including the right to peaceful assembly. We believe that the current administrative legislation in Georgia fails to adequately ensure the full enjoyment of this right. The procedural framework established by the Code of Administrative Offenses of Georgia does not align with the Georgian Constitution or international standards. It poses a risk of disproportionate interference with human rights, increases the likelihood of police arbitrariness, and facilitates the unjustified use of administrative fines\u2014especially following the amendments adopted in December 2024. Numerous international organizations have condemned disproportionate administrative fines as a violation of individual rights by the state. Among them, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in its March 6 opinion, stated that the recent legislative amendments to Georgia\u2019s Code of Administrative Offenses do not comply with Georgia\u2019s international human rights obligations. ODIHR also emphasized that \u201ca disproportionate fine in itself may be sufficient to constitute a violation of the right to peaceful assembly.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The accounts of the organization, which were frozen at the request of the Prosecutor\u2019s Office of Georgia, contained both donations collected to cover fines for individuals and grants transferred by international donors for the organization\u2019s other planned human rights activities. As a result, other beneficiaries of our organization will also no longer be able to have access to essential services.<\/p>\n

    We call on the relevant authorities to take immediate action:<\/p>\n

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    • To the Prosecutor\u2019s Office: Immediately halt the investigation and lift the freeze on the organization\u2019s accounts, allowing us to continue our human rights activities without obstruction.<\/li>\n
    • To the Court of Appeals: Review and annul the City Court\u2019s unlawful and unfounded decision.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Human Rights House Tbilisi (HRHT) and its Member Organizations:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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      • Human Rights Center<\/em><\/li>\n
      • Media Institute<\/em><\/li>\n
      • Sapari<\/em><\/li>\n
      • Rights Georgia<\/em><\/li>\n
      • Georgian Center for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (GCRT)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        PEN Belarus stands in solidarity with the Human Rights House Tbilisi. Statement of the Human Rights House Tbilisi and its Member Organizations about the Freezing of the Accounts of the Human Rights House Tbilisi and the Investigation Launched by the General Prosecutor\u2019s Office of \u201cGeorgian Dream\u201d We respond to the investigation initiated by the General<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":18702,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4201],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18701","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\/18701","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=18701"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18708,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18701\/revisions\/18708"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/penbelarus.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}