A Georgian human rights organization has announced a forced reduction in aid.

Given the extremely dire human rights situation, the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) is temporarily switching to crisis mode and will continue to provide legal assistance only in the area of ​​strategic litigation, the organization announced today.

Legislative amendments adopted in 2024 significantly narrowed the space for human rights activities, which also impacted the work of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association. Accordingly, several important areas had to be limited, including programs providing citizens with free legal aid.

"The Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) has served Georgia's constitutional interests through the protection of human rights and the rule of law for over 31 years. From its founding to the present day, GYLA human rights defenders have provided over 1.3 million free legal consultations and services. The organization provided free legal assistance to people in nine regions of Georgia: Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi, Ozurgeti, Zugdidi, Gori, Dusheti, Rustavi, and Telavi." "The repressive environment has forced a significant number of civil society organizations to completely cease or sharply reduce their activities, and the real risk of criminal prosecution has placed them under constant pressure," Novosti Georgia quoted the organization as saying.

The organization was forced to temporarily limit a number of important activities. "Programs providing citizens with free legal aid have been affected, meaning that thousands of citizens will no longer be able to receive the support they received annually in the form of daily, free in-person, telephone, or online consultations, document preparation, and legal representation. Given the extremely dire human rights situation, the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association is temporarily switching to a crisis mode and will continue to provide legal assistance only in the area of ​​strategic litigation." With 31 years of experience and responsibility to society, the organization will also continue to monitor the human rights situation, document violations and respond to them publicly, clearly and reasonably,” the statement said.

The "Caucasian Knot" wrote that the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association, in particular, filed two complaints with the European Court of Human Rights in connection with the case of Mzia Amaglobeli, founder of the publications Netgazeti and Batumelebi.

The ECHR has begun consideration of the case of mass violations of the secrecy of the vote in the 2024 parliamentary elections in Georgia, a complaint filed by the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association. The organization also represented the interests of those affected by the dispersal of the protest in Tbilisi on "Gavrilov's Night" at the ECHR. The Grand Chamber of the ECHR recognized The actions to disperse the protest violated the prohibition of inhuman treatment, the right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression, and ordered the state to pay 26 applicants 646,000 euros in compensation.