Protesters in Georgia are facing unprecedented financial penalties, with total fines hitting a staggering 2 million GEL. Critics say this is more than a crackdown — it’s an assault on the right to protest.
A Wave of Penalties Hits Protesters
The Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) has raised the alarm. The group reported that between November 2024 and March 2025, demonstrators accumulated a jaw-dropping 2 million GEL in fines. The bulk of these penalties stem from spontaneous protests, particularly those involving road blockades.
The government’s response? Hefty financial punishments, backed by new amendments to Article 174¹ of the Administrative Offenses Code. The revised law, pushed forward by the ruling Georgian Dream party, increased fines from 500 GEL to 5,000 GEL — a tenfold jump that many see as an intentional effort to stifle dissent.
Technology in Policing: Facial Recognition and Photographic Evidence
Protesters aren’t just battling legislation. They’re also up against technology. Law enforcement has leaned heavily on facial recognition systems to pinpoint individuals at rallies.
Court decisions, meanwhile, increasingly rely on photographic evidence — often without considering the broader context of the protests. GYLA argues this approach lacks nuance and breeds bias, reducing the complex realities of demonstrations to snapshots that tell only part of the story.
For many, this signals a worrying trend: technology, meant to ensure safety, being repurposed as a tool to suppress opposition.
Financial Repression: A New Form of Control?
GYLA isn’t mincing words. They accuse the government of turning fines into a weapon of repression. Financial penalties, they argue, are being used strategically to make protests economically unsustainable for ordinary citizens.
The numbers speak for themselves:
- November 2024 to March 2025: 2 million GEL in fines
- Individual penalties soared from 500 GEL to 5,000 GEL
- Increased reliance on technology-driven identification methods
For many activists, the fines aren’t just a deterrent — they’re a life-altering burden. Paying thousands of GEL can be catastrophic for middle-class and working-class citizens, effectively silencing those who can’t afford the price of speaking out.
The Bigger Picture: Political Ramifications
The protests erupted after the government suspended negotiations on joining the European Union for four years, a move that outraged pro-EU Georgians. Demonstrators, many waving EU flags, view the government’s stance as a betrayal of Georgia’s future.
The crackdown on protests, paired with escalating fines, fuels speculation that the Georgian Dream party is trying to control dissent ahead of the next election cycle. Some analysts suggest that suppressing EU-leaning protests benefits the party’s ties with Moscow, a longstanding source of tension within the country.
This isn’t the first time Georgia has faced accusations of authoritarian behavior. However, using financial punishment on this scale represents a new chapter — one where the price of protest isn’t just personal, but financial, too.
