In March, 2023, the Georgian Parliament passed a law similar to the Foreign Agents Act in Russia. The legislation would be a severe infringement on the freedom of expression, and would curtail freedom of press and civil liberties of Georgians engaged in the civil society, and expose them to intimidation and the threat of unjust imprisonment.
The Georgian civil society organized large-scale demonstrations in front of the country’s parliament, demanding the passing of the law to be retracted and their civil liberties preserved. While the protests were peaceful, a drastic response by the police with tear gas and water cannons led to many injuries among the protesters, which in turn catapulted the issue to the front pages of international media.
Our Students For Liberty volunteers in Georgia were actively involved on the ground, providing protective equipment such as masks and water to those affected by the excessive use of pepper spray and tear gas by the police.
They also raised awareness of the issue internationally, writing articles for Speak Freely, Learn Liberty and numerous other platforms. “I wrote an article about the Georgian civil movement and its importance, as I wanted the whole world to find out about the Georgian struggle,” said Mariam Berdzenishvili, a student at Free University of Tbilisi and SFL activist. “I myself gave several interviews on live broadcasts to raise awareness about the ongoing situation,” she continued.
Eventually, after several days the campaign succeeded, and the law was repealed. For their courage and activism that led to a real change in government policy, our team in Georgia and the team’s National Coordinator Anano Khorbaladze received the award for the Impact of the Year, decided by the panel of our Global Programs Director Olumayowa Okediran, Development Director Kenneth Wagner, and Training & Engagement Director Kevin Flanagan. The team had initially been selected as finalists from over 30 nominations by Students For Liberty Coordinators across Europe.
This piece solely expresses the opinion of the author and not necessarily the organization as a whole. Students For Liberty is committed to facilitating a broad dialogue for liberty, representing a variety of opinions.
