Noting that the situation in Georgia "has continued to deteriorate" since its last assessment in January, with no sign of an inclusive political process or new elections, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has warned of a deepening political schism in the country and made a series of additional recommendations to reverse democratic backsliding.
Approving a resolution based on a report by Edite Estrela (Portugal, SOC) and Sabina Ćudić (Bosnia and Herzegovina, ALDE), the Assembly said "retaliation against protesters, journalists and civic leaders continue unabated". It demanded the release of detained protesters, a stop to ill-treatment of detainees, and investigations into reports of police brutality.
There are also growing challenges to freedom of assembly and expression, while the media environment has continued to deteriorate, the parliamentarians said. They called for the repeal or revision of a number of concerning new laws in these fields, as well as repeal of recent amendments to the electoral code and a series of other steps to "restore the conditions for genuinely democratic elections".
The Assembly added that it was deeply concerned by the "devastating impact" on Georgian civil society of the Foreign Agent Registration Act - serving the same objectives as the controversial Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence - and called for the repeal of legislation ending the mandatory participation of civil society organisations in the law-making process.
The Assembly also said it deplores the decision of the ruling majority to investigate members of the United National Movement for activities between 2003 and the present, and the criminal charges against former UNM members and others, including from opposition parties and members of civil society.
The parliamentarians warned: "The effective prohibition of democratic opposition in Georgia would be a gross violation of Georgia's membership obligations under the statute of the Council of Europe. Even if not yet enacted, the threat of such action alone already deepens the political schism in the country and prevents the resolution of the ongoing crisis."
The Assembly also expressed deep regret that, despite its decision in January to ratify the credentials of the Georgian delegation, all its members had resigned, "thus rejecting dialogue".
Mediabox: interview with the co-rapporteurs
