ECHR Rules Georgia Violated Protesters' Rights During 2023 Foreign Agents Law Rallies
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on January 20 that Georgia violated the rights of protester Giorgi Mekvabishvili by convicting him for disobeying police orders during demonstrations against the Foreign Agents Law in March 2023.
The Strasbourg court found violations of the right to a fair trial and freedom of assembly under Articles 6 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights and ordered Georgia to pay Mekvabishvili EUR 2,265 in damages.
Mekvabishvili was detained overnight on March 8, 2023, during protests outside parliament following the first adoption of the Foreign Agents Law. Two days later, the Tbilisi City Court fined him GEL 2,000 after finding him guilty of disobeying lawful police orders. The ruling party later withdrew the bill amid mass protests, before reintroducing it in 2024.
In its judgment, the ECHR said there was "no direct and independent evidence" supporting the charge against Mekvabishvili, noting that the case relied solely on a police account. The court said the applicant was forced to prove his innocence "against uncorroborated police accusations," which "undermined the overall fairness of the criminal proceedings."
The court also rejected the authorities' justification for dispersing the protest. It said there was no indication that the demonstration was intended to disrupt parliamentary work or that Mekvabishvili engaged in violent conduct. The judges found that the authorities failed to show "relevant and sufficient grounds" for restricting the protest and criticized domestic courts for not adequately explaining the decision to clear the area.
As a result, the court ruled that Georgia had violated Mekvabishvili's right to freedom of assembly.
The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association, which represented Mekvabishvili, said the case reflects a broader pattern. "Giorgi Mekvabishvili's case is not an isolated case," the organization said, pointing to longstanding problems in Georgia's Administrative Offenses Code and the lack of effective judicial oversight in protest-related detentions.
Hundreds of demonstrators have been detained on administrative charges during protests between 2023 and 2025, including for petty hooliganism and disobeying police orders, as the ruling Georgian Dream party has continued to tighten regulations governing public assemblies.
