ECtHR Finds Rights Violation in Conviction of Protester at 2023 Rally Against Agents Law
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled on January 20 that Georgia violated the rights of protester Giorgi Mekvabishvili by convicting him for “disobeying police orders” during the March 2023 demonstrations against the Foreign Agents Law. The Court found violations of the right to a fair trial and freedom of assembly, Articles 6 and 11, respectively, of the European Convention on Human Rights, and ordered the state to pay him EUR 2,265 in damages.
Mekvabishvili was arrested overnight on March 8, 2023, in Tbilisi during protests outside parliament against the first adoption of the Foreign Agents Law, which Georgian Dream withdrew at the time amid mass protests but reintroduced in 2024. On March 10, the Tbilisi City Court fined him GEL 2,000 (about EUR 665) after finding him guilty of “disobeying lawful police orders” during the protest.
In its judgment, the ECtHR said that there was “no direct and independent evidence” against the applicant, but only a police account of the events. It said that the applicant had to prove his innocence “against uncorroborated police accusations,” which “undermined the overall fairness of the criminal proceedings.”
The ECtHR said “nothing in the case file suggests that the demonstration as a whole was intended to obstruct parliamentary work,” nor that “the applicant participated in any such attempt or was shown to have engaged in otherwise violent conduct.” It found that the authorities failed to demonstrate “relevant and sufficient grounds to regard the interference” as “necessary and proportionate,” and said it “cannot overlook the domestic courts’ failure to provide sufficient reasons” for dispersing the rally and clearing the road. The court therefore found a violation of freedom of assembly under Article 11.
“Giorgi Mekvabishvili’s case is not an isolated case,” said the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, a local human rights group that represented the applicant before the Court. “For years, GYLA has been pointing out the need for fundamental changes to the Administrative Offenses Code, particularly regarding the lack of guarantees for judicial control in cases of arbitrary detention and administrative offenses in the context of protests.”
Hundreds of protesters have been arrested on administrative charges during protests from 2023 to 2025 for “petty hooliganism” and “disobeying police orders.” Meanwhile, Georgian Dream has been gradually tightening protest-related rules.
In October 2025, the disputed parliament toughened penalties for disobedience to lawful police orders. Under the changes, the first two violations remain administrative offenses, but a third violation becomes a criminal offense carrying up to one year in prison. Any subsequent violations are punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment.
Also Read:
- 20/01/2026 – Public Defender Challenges Protest-Related Restrictions, Penalties in Constitutional Court
- 01/11/2025 – Protester Faces Up to One Year in Jail After Police Arrests Him for ‘Repeat Road-Blocking’
- 31/10/2023 – GYLA Report: Evaluating the March 7-9 Civil Protest – Legality, Proportionality and Human Rights Violations