On August 27 the bank accounts of seven non-governmental organizations had been frozen. These include the Civil Society Foundation, ISFED, IDFI, GDI, Defenders of Democracy, Sapari, and SJC.
According to the agency, the organizations committed a crime because their “targeted funds were used to buy equipment such as special gas masks, protective glasses, masks, face coverings, pepper spray, and other items, which were actively used by protesters during violent clashes with the police.”
The Prosecutor’s Office also described providing legal assistance to detainees and those fined during the protests as a crime.
NGOs, as well as the European Union and European countries, have condemned the move as political persecution.
Georgian Dream justifies the seizures with anti-Western propaganda narratives.
In doing so, Georgian Dream has not hesitated to attack Europe itself.
On August 29, the British Embassy expressed concern over the freezing of NGO bank accounts, stating:
“We are concerned that this may not be a response to any illegal actions by these organizations, but rather a politically motivated decision aimed at silencing them.”
In response, the chairman of the Georgian Dream parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, attacked the British Embassy, calling its statement “unfriendly” and accusing it of “trying to fund extremist organizations a few weeks ago.”
The full article was originally published in Georgian Publika.ge on October 1, 2025. For English version please click here. Journalist Tamta Natchkebia prepared this interview as part of The Berlin Journalism School’s (BJS) Strengthening Resilience Against Disinformation program, which is supported by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.