According to Georgian non-governmental organizations, on August 11 six organizations received letters from the Anti-Corruption Bureau accusing them of violating the so-called “Foreign Agents Registration Law,” threatening them with criminal liability, and demanding explanations as to why they had not registered as agents.
“The Ivanishvili/Kuprashvili Bureau continues its attack on Georgian civil society,” representatives of the Civil Society Foundation, Sapari, Transparency International Georgia, Media Development Foundation, ISFED, and the Social Justice Center stated in connection with the matter.
In their joint statement, the NGOs declare that they have no intention of living under Russian laws and will continue to fight to protect the rights of the Georgian people.
“On August 11, 2025, six organizations received yet another letter from the Anti-Corruption Bureau accusing us of violating the so-called ‘Foreign Agents Registration Law,’ threatening us with criminal liability, and demanding explanations as to why we have not registered as agents.
As we have stated publicly many times, we once again repeat that we will not register as entities acting in the interest of a foreign country. We are independent Georgian NGOs operating in accordance with our charters. Our mission is to protect the rights of women, children, workers, persons with disabilities, internally displaced persons, and all people facing oppression; to monitor elections, expose corruption and disinformation, defend democracy, and support the Georgian people. We serve only the interests of our people and of Georgia.
Under the standard of the American FARA law, which this legislation supposedly imitates, we are not subject to registration in such a registry. We will send the Ivanishvili–Kuprashvili Bureau the relevant legal documentation confirming this.
In the style of Putin’s Russia, the persecution of independent NGOs and free media is aimed at ending democracy. But we will continue our work and will not abandon the Georgian people without support. We will fight until Georgia becomes the free, democratic, and EU member state that the Georgian people deserve.
Once again, we declare that we have no intention of living under Russian laws and will continue to fight for the protection of the rights of the Georgian people,” the organizations stated.
