Parliament Planning to Enact New Draft Law on Extremism

Parliament Planning to Enact New Draft Law on Extremism

In September, the Legal Committee of the Parliament is planning to make amendments to the criminal code of Georgia regarding political extremism. The proposed laws will mean that any person who makes statements against the government, either over the phone in private, or openly, may be imprisoned. The Parliamentary majority uses the legislation of some western countries as examples to justify the proposed changes, but experts fear that this law might be used against opponents for political revenge.

If the draft law comes into force, any critical opinion expressed against the government, which is viewed as ‘anti-state’ will be judged.

Nika Gvaramia, a member of the Parliamentary Legal Committee, says that the aforementioned law might cover any statement that is directed against legitimate government processes, state interests, state security or territorial integrity. According to Gvaramia, many developed countries have such legislation and Georgia could use the same model.

The proposed powers are opposed by the opposition, NGOs and experts. They criticize the draft law and say that it could be used to stifle freedom of expression. Lawyer David Usupashvili cannot understand against whom the government would need such a law on extremism.

“When these people initiate something, it would be better if they explain to us in detail, in which situations the act will be used. I cannot understand what hinders them in combating crime and why it has become necessary to enact this kind of law. I think that this law may be used for fighting political battles and that the government will have one more tool with which to intimidate any alternative opinion. The creation of this law may be in reference to political parties or the media. The fact is that they want restrictions”.

According to the parliamentary majority, the same kind of laws are common in leading western countries, like the USA, Great Britain, Spain and Russia. Experts say however that western countries have a different attitude towards these issues and that Georgia is not going to follow the example of the West, but instead will follow the example set by Russia. 

“Our government is going to rewrite the same draft law that Putin [the President of Russia] passed few days ago, which refers to extremism”, believes David Usuphashvili.

NGOs also criticize the Parliaments initiative. According to a representative of the NGO ‘Former Political Prisoners for Human Rights’, Gela Nikoleishvili, our government resembles a Soviet regime with these kind of initiatives:
“The methods used by our government very much resemble those used by the Soviets. It’s normal that they want the restoration of Soviet legislation. Terror is being implemented throughout society and they try to create an attitude of ‘those who are not with us, are our enemies’; expressing an alternative opinion is considered high treason. The government is terrorizing the nation psychologically.”

Although the draft law is not yet ready, NGOs and opposition parties already know quite well what the motivation is for enacting it.

“The main purpose of the draft law will be approximately the same as that of article 71 of the criminal code of the soviet government - which was used against me and many others to cast judgment. That article was about anti-soviet agitation against propaganda, i.e., if a person even said a bad joke about the government, he or she might be imprisoned. This law will not only be used against political opponents but against the media and more generally against people with different opinions”, states Nikoleishvili.