Levan Natroshvili, Executive Director of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), says that despite the freezing of their bank accounts, the organization continues to operate, though under severe financial constraints.
“They know full well that all our resources are limited by the freezing of accounts. We have more than 200 beneficiaries who we are currently assisting, and it would be very sad if these people were left without assistance. We are trying our best to provide this assistance as much as we can,” – Natroshvili told BGMTV.
The ISFED director emphasized that the ongoing investigation against non-governmental organizations under the article of sabotage is unprecedented in Georgia.
“This is not the first step taken against civil organizations. For years, there has been an active campaign and policy against NGOs. Various laws were adopted, which led to a very difficult working environment. The Anti-Corruption Bureau began enforcing these laws, and now the Prosecutor’s Office has continued the process. The investigation is focused on identifying our role in alleged sabotage or coup attempts, with a focus on foreign funding,” – Natroshvili explained.
According to him, the authorities are attempting to classify last year’s spring and autumn protest rallies as violent, framing them as acts of sabotage.
“These articles are very severe. No one has ever been punished under this article in Georgia. Applying them to participants in peaceful rallies is completely unheard of and unimaginable,” – he stressed.
