“The use of defamation laws, foreign agent registration laws, and anti-NGO laws, to silence free speech is nothing new. We see it in Russia, Nicaragua, and Uganda, whose leaders have long used these tools to target journalists, judges, civil society activists, and opposition political figures to consolidate power and silence dissenting voices and views,” said U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, during a committee hearing focused on laws targeting non-governmental organizations, including the Russian law adopted in Georgia.
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The senator noted that in recent years, more and more countries, once considered mostly democratic or partially free, have started using these laws as tools of repression.
“It is deeply concerning that democracies from Georgia to India to Turkey have used their legal systems against journalists, opposition politicians, human rights defenders, and civil societies.
So, I want to thank our witnesses for appearing before us today to discuss this important topic. You have all done impressive work in this space. I want to acknowledge that many of these laws are totally legitimate. There are reasons to register foreign agents, to protect individuals from defamatory attacks, to require that NGOs pay fees or taxes on time, or to use INTERPOL red notices to track down fugitives and criminals. The problem is when these laws are turned into tools of repression and intimidation.
[...] For so many years, the Republic of Georgia has been a bright spot in the former Soviet Union. But just this April, despite massive street demonstrations, the government passed a foreign influence registration law that goes into effect this fall.
Amazingly, this law is modeled after a Russian law; and considering what Russia has done to Georgia, it is unbelievable that they would follow that path, that allows the government to target nonprofits and activists.
It intends to intimidate and ultimately force the closure of civil society voices that are out of step with the government. The sponsors of the law in the governing Georgian Dream political party have been very clear about their intentions, and about which civil society actors they perceive as enemies,” said Ben Cardin.
The senator presented posters displayed near the office of the non-governmental organization Transparency International - Georgia and at the home of its director, Eka Gigauri, with the message ‘Our homeland is not for sale.’ He stated that these posters “call into question the loyalty of the people who are advocating against these repressive laws”.
A statement intended to impugn and label NGO leaders as foreign agents. Congress - and this Committee in particular - has a responsibility to take bold legislative action that confronts the use of these laws head-on and to support the bold activists that are determined to hold onto democracy," the senator noted.
