Georgian NGOs Report Threats for Refusing to Register as Foreign Agents

The Anti-Corruption Bureau sent letters to six non-governmental organizations accusing them of violating the law on foreign agents and threatening criminal prosecution for refusing to register. The NGOs stated that they do not intend to register as representatives of a foreign state.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, several NGOs refused to register in the foreign agent registry, and the charity foundation "Revolution of Good", which helped low-income families in Georgia, announced the termination of its activities, deciding to refuse to register in the foreign agent registry. The non-governmental organization Animal Project announced the termination of its work due to the law on transparency of foreign influence. On May 31, the law "On Registration of Foreign Agents" came into force in Georgia - an analogue of the American FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act), designed to replace the less strict law "On Transparency of Foreign Influence". Unlike the previous version, the new law applies to both organizations and individuals, and failure to comply with it provides not only for large fines, but also for imprisonment for up to 5 years. Execution of entrusted to the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Georgia.

Six Georgian NGOs said they had received new letters from the Anti-Corruption Bureau accusing them of violating the recently adopted "foreign agent" law and threatening them with criminal prosecution for refusing to register.

Georgia's Anti-Corruption Bureau has begun inspecting six non-profit organizations under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), warning that failure to register under the law is a criminal offense. the organizations received written notifications about this.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau stated that the organizations may have been engaged in “political activities” aimed at “shaping, adopting, or influencing Georgia’s domestic or foreign policies,” as well as activities driven by the interests of a foreign government or foreign political party.

According to the bureau, the inspection mentioned in the letters was based on a possible FARA violation. They added that the purpose of the inspection was to identify individuals required to register as agents and to examine their activities. The bureau asked the organizations to explain why they had not filed their registration applications on time. “Due to failure to submit an application for registration to the bureau within the time period established by law, this person is subject to criminal liability,” the letter warned.

These include the Civil Society Foundation, SAPARI, the Center for Social Justice, and the Media Development Fund, among others. The organizations said they would not implement the law, which was adopted by the ruling Georgian Dream party and came into force on June 1.

The organizations issued a joint statement. "We will not register as representatives of a foreign state. We are independent Georgian NGOs that work according to our charters, protecting the rights of women, children, workers, people with disabilities, refugees and all oppressed groups; monitoring elections, exposing corruption and disinformation, defending democracy and helping the Georgian people. We serve only the people and Georgia," Novosti Georgia quoted a fragment of the statement.