The European Court of Human Rights has informed us that it has begun examining the application lodged against the “Russian law” and has asked the state relevant questions. The court has started considering the case in relation to all the articles that the applicants have complained about.
As is known to the public, on 17 October 2024, 16 media organizations, 120 non-governmental organizations, and 4 individuals addressed the European Court of Human Rights against the “Russian Law” and its severe consequences.
The application states that the “Russian law” violates the freedom of association (Article 11), freedom of expression (Article 10), the right to respect for private and family life (Article 8), the prohibition of discrimination (Article 14), the right to an effective remedy (Article 13), and the limitation on the use of restrictions on rights (Article 18) protected by the European Convention on Human Rights.
As is indicated in the correspondence sent by the court, the court may grant the case the status of an impact case. Such a status is granted to the cases that concern issues of exceptional importance for the protection of human rights.
It is noteworthy that after the application was lodged, the persecution of civil society continued and intensified. Part of the ongoing policy of the “Georgian Dream” is the re-initiation of the translation of the FARA. The law in force in the USA does not oppose the activities of independent NGOs and the free media, while the “Georgian Dream” wants to disguise the “Russian law” with this act. The judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (Kobaliya and Others v. Russia, No. 39446/16 and 106 others) (Ecodefence and Others v. Russia, Nos. 9988/13 and 60 others) clearly confirm how restrictive laws on civil society are used to suppress independent voices in the country, which is characteristic of the authoritarian regimes.
It is noteworthy that from the day the case was sent, the Georgian Dream propaganda claimed that the case had not been lodged. Later, when we publicized an extract from the postal service, the propaganda media outlets began to claim that the court’s signature was not visible on it. After the case was registered, the propaganda media outlets continued to mislead the public by manipulating various procedural issues. High-ranking officials continue stigmatizing the civil society and attaching insulting labels to them.
The “Russian law” not only restricts civil society and the media, but also serves to isolate citizens from each other and suppress critical voices. The legal battle against the Russian laws and censorship will end with the victory of the Georgian people.
