Silicon Bites #71 - Georgia Pre-crime Detention Marks Slide into Kremlin-inspired Authoritarian Rule

Edition No71 | 01-01-2025 - As the slide toward dictatorship in Georgia accelerates, this episode will review the mechanics of law that mark an increasingly repressive and desperate regime. As we’ve examined in previous episodes, the Georgia Dream party has now ripped off the mask and shed any last vestige of ambiguity they are a Kremlin proxy party that is intent on deconstructing Georgia’s fragile democracy and subverting institutions that have been evolving since independence to bring rule of law and civic liberties to society. ---------- SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISER A project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's frontline towns. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras ---------- Here is a summary of the laws brough in, posted on X by the excellent Anna Gvarishvili, who has been a recent guest on this channel. The following restrictions have bene rushed into law, and will take effect on Dec. 30: 1. Drivers joining protests with processions: If police determine such actions obstruct traffic, drivers will be fined 1,000 Lari and have driving license suspended for a year. 2. Unauthorized protest stencils/signs/posters: Fines for damaging the city’s appearance have been increased from 50 Lari to up to 1,000 Lari. 3. Blocking roads during protests: can lead to a fine on each person of 5,000 Lari (a 10-fold increase in the fine for this offence). Those deemed to be organizers, can face fines of 15,000 Lari. This rule also applies to violations under Georgia’s “Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations,” including blocking building entrances. Instead of a fine, administrative detention of up to 15 days can also be imposed. 4. Presence of pyrotechnics at protests: Regardless of whether they are used, individuals will be fined 5,000 Lari. If this is deemed an organized act, the organizer may face a fine of 15,000 Lari. Administrative detention of up to 15 days may also be applied instead of a fine. 5. Possession of laser or bright light-emitting devices: 2,000 Lari fine. 6. Covering one’s face with masks or other means: This will result in a 2,000 Lari fine. 7. Minors at protests: If a minor is deemed to have violated Article 173 (disobedience to lawful police demands), their parents will be fined for improper upbringing, with fines ranging from 100 to 300 Lari. This is the one that triggered the title of this episode, and it has sinister connotations of the pre-crime detection unit in the Sci-Fi book, Minority Report. 8. Preventive detention: Police can now detain individuals preventively, assuming they may commit an offense based on prior violations. 9. Detention for court appearance: Police can detain individuals solely to ensure their appearance in court, even if they do not refuse to attend voluntarily. This provision allows police to detain someone even if no case has yet been filed in court. 10. Expanded grounds for personal and property searches: Personal searches, inspections of items, and confiscation of belongings and documents are now permitted under these same grounds. ---------- NEWS SOURCES: https://oc-media.org/from-fireworks-to-the-public-sector-georgian-dream-introduces-new-legislation-amid-protests/ https://oc-media.org/us-sanctions-bidzina-ivanishvili/ https://eurasianet.org/georgia-government-set-to-pass-laws-bolstering-police-state https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-sanctions-georgian-officials-responsible-for-brutal-crackdown-on-media-and-protestors https://civil.ge/archives/645520 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crk01xyd22eo https://oc-media.org/when-we-get-in-the-minibus-the-fun-will-start-how-georgian-police-torture-detained-protesters/ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/27/lets-see-who-will-be-leaving-georgias-presidential-standoff-nears-crunch-point ----------