Georgia intends to impose harsher sanctions on demonstrators in the midst of a political crisis

As Georgia struggles with a long-running political crisis, the government is moving forward with a legislation package that would enhance the penalty for protest-related offenses, often leading to several years in jail.

Since the ruling Georgian Dream party, which is currently in its fourth term in office, announced in November that it was delaying EU accession discussions until 2028, so abandoning a long-standing national objective, Georgians have been gathering every night.

According to rights organizations, the police have quickly clamped down on the protests, leading to hundreds of arrests and beatings. The administration has justified the police tactics, claiming that there have been attempts by dark forces to incite discontent and topple the government.

The proposed changes would lengthen jail terms for minor administrative offenses from 15 to 60 days, as well as raise fines and incarceration durations for offenses such as insulting the police and small hooliganism.

A jail term of five to ten years would be imposed for resisting, threatening, and using violence against police personnel.

A senior Georgian Dream politician named Mamuka Mdinaradze made the announcement Monday, claiming that the government was reacting to efforts by “external forces… to destroy and weaken the state and its institutions.”

He implied that the U.S. embassy was supporting the demonstrators, although he did not specifically name the “external forces.”

Mdinaradze was quoted by the news agency Interpress as stating, “If anyone believes that what is happening on the streets is happening independently of the U.S. Embassy, they know nothing about what is happening on the streets.”

An inquiry was not immediately answered by the U.S. embassy in Tbilisi.

In the old Soviet Union, Georgia was one of Washington’s closest friends, but detractors claim Georgian Dream is now moving the nation closer to Russia and toward authoritarianism.

A key freeway heading out of the city was momentarily stopped by hundreds of protesters on Sunday, reviving the forceful demonstrations that had dwindled in previous weeks.

Georgian officials charged eight demonstrators on Tuesday, citing local media, with trying to obstruct the freeway, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of four years in jail, including former Tbilisi Mayor Giorgi Ugulava.

Georgians have been calling for fresh elections since an October vote that opposition parties claim was manipulated to support Georgian Dream. The vote, according to the party, was free and fair.