Day: September 17, 2024
On September 17, the Georgian Parliament adopted in third hearing the law “On Amnesty” with 84 votes in favor, 0 votes against. According to the law, the prisoners who committed crimes before July 1, 2024 and are convicted under more than 200 articles of the Criminal Code of Georgia will be granted clemencies.
The amnesty law – adopted a month before the crucial parliamentary elections – envisages either full exemption from liability and punishment or reduction of sentence by half; reduction of sentence by one-quarter; reduction of sentence by one-sixth; or a one-year reduction in probation for probationers.
The amnesty will not cover individuals convicted of: murder, drug dealing, sexual crimes, robbery, terrorism, corruption and abuse of power, involvement in the criminal underworld, conventional crimes, trafficking, and other serious and particularly severe offenses.
The amnesty was first announced by Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze during the presentation of his first annual report as the Head of the Government to the Parliament on June 28, where he said it would be “desirable” to reduce the number of Georgia’s prison population by one-third and bring the number of inmates “close to the European figure.”
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On September 17, the Georgian Parliament adopted the anti-LBTQ+ legislative package in its third hearing with 84 votes in favor, 0 votes against. The package consists of a core bill “On Protection of Family Values and Minors” and 18 related amendments to various laws of Georgia.
The majority of opposition MPs did not attend the plenary session as they are boycotting parliamentary work following the adoption of the foreign agents law.
Prior to the adoption of the law, 32 civil society organizations issued a statement condemning the legislative package. The CSOs stated that the GD is pushing for the adoption of this package with the aim of “manipulating the public before the elections, covering up real problems, inciting irrational fear and creating another obstacle on the road to the country’s European integration”.
The organizations underlined that the legislative package entitled “On the Protection of Family Values and Minors” does not in fact provide a real solution to the problems faced by families in Georgia, such as poverty, inflation, high migration rate, lack of infrastructure necessary for a decent life, education, etc. “The only way to respond to these and other real challenges is to make principled and determined progress on the path of Georgia’s European integration – exactly what the government is trying to prevent, including with this legislative package,” the civil society organizations noted.
The CSOs also emphasized that the legislative package in fact legalizes censorship and is a gross interference in the right to assembly. At the same time, the package is harmful not only for the LGBTQ+ community, but for all citizens, because creating a precedent of restricting the rights of one group of people has shown that in many other states it turned into repressions against other groups as well, therefore it may give the ruling party a basis to restrict the rights of other people as well.
The CSOs noted that they were not calling on the Parliament to do anything because the Parliament had never heeded their calls not to take certain actions, such as the adoption of the Foreign Agents Law. However, they called on the President to veto the legislative package; on the Public Defender to take all measures for a critical public evaluation of the legislative package and for future appeals against it in the relevant courts; and on the civil and political movements to take measures to curb the long-term effects of anti-democratic and anti-European initiatives.
“We believe that October 26 will bring changes, because we see that Georgia is choosing the path of solidarity, building bridges and unyielding unity day by day. We thank every citizen who, by his or her personal example, promotes the true Georgian values of tolerance and mutual respect. We express our solidarity with the people who are most affected by this manipulative process,” the CSOs concluded.
On June 26, the Venice Commission published its opinion on the core law and amendments. The Commission called on the Georgian government “reconsider this legislative proposal entirely and to not proceed with its adoption” or, if it proceeds with its adoption, to remove/modify some of the articles in a way that ensures non-discrimination of LGBTI people and compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Homophobia has been used by the ruling Georgian Dream party as one of the main pillars of its election campaign. The legislative package passed today purports to combat “LGBT propaganda” in the country, but in fact threatens some fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and assembly, and allows for the censorship of literature, film and media.
The ruling GD has also initiated an amendment to the Georgian Constitution, which will stipulate that “the protection of family values and minors shall be ensured by constitutional law” and the corresponding constitutional law, but the amendment is being shelved because the GD does not have a constitutional majority.
Also Read:
- 27/06/2024 – Anti-LGBT Legislation Passed in First Reading
- 25/03/2024 – GD Pushes for Anti-LGBT Constitutional Law