The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), after the Constitutional Court of the country refused to suspend the law, continues the fight against the Russian-style Foreign Agents Law.
Nona Kurdovanidze (Director of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, GYLA) announced that 16 media organizations, 120 organizations from civil society, and four individuals would file a complaint jointly with the ECHR.
Announcement of a “new phase” in the battle against the law, she stated: “The Russian Law aims to stifle the civil society and media, as well as to divide citizens and muzzle critical voices. The plaintiff organizations are involved in social issues, such as environmental protection and the rights of disabled people. They also work on judicial reforms, fighting corruption, investigative journalism and protecting women and children.
The plaintiffs will argue several rights under the European Convention on Human Rights were violated. The rights are: freedom of assembly and association (Article 11, Freedom of Expression (Article 10, Right to Respect for Private and Family Life (Article 8, Prohibition of Discrimination (Article 14, Right to an Effective Remedy (Article 13, Limitation of the use of restrictions of rights (Article 18,
Kurdovanidze stated that “fighting against independent organizations using Russian methods violates not only basic human rights, but also undermines Georgians‘ unwavering choice for integration into Euro-Atlantic structure.”
She expressed her disappointment that the Constitutional Court had “refused to do its duty” in not suspending the anticonstitutional law. However, she added that CSOs continue their fight against this law. She concluded that “this law will be repealed,”
The Constitutional Court of Georgia has decided to accept appeals against the Foreign Agents Law, but has refused to suspend it temporarily, as there is no irreparable damage in its current operation.
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The Daily Beat: Tuesday, 2 October
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