Georgia targets former Ombudsman Ucha Nanuashvili who helped OSCE document human rights abuses

Georgia’s State Security Service summoned former Ombudsmanі Ucha Nanuashvili for questioning about his contact with OSCE investigators, the latest move in what Amnesty International calls a “witch-hunt” against human rights defenders exposing abuses in the increasingly authoritarian country.

“The summoning of prominent human rights defender Ucha Nanuashvili over his reported cooperation with an OSCE expert is yet another example of the Georgian authorities engaging in a witch-hunt, targeting those who expose human rights violations. Instead of addressing the violations themselves, the authorities send a chilling message by targeting those who report them. This kind of harassment only serves to confirm the very conclusions of the OSCE report,” Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Deputy Director, stated.

Amnesty International stressed that the summoning of Ucha Nanuashvili is the latest in a worrying pattern in which researchers and human rights defenders who provide information or comments on the human rights situation in Georgia are subjected to questioning in criminal proceedings. It also comes amid stepped-up pressure on civil society actors and organizations operating in an increasingly restrictive environment, which has most recently included the cessation of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association’s legal aid programme and the passage of laws arbitrarily restricting foreign funding for civic activity.

Denis Krivosheev called on Georgian authorities to end the intimidation of all human rights defenders and “uphold their right to engage freely with international human rights mechanisms without fear of reprisals.”

To provide background, on 17 March 2026, Ucha Nanuashvili was summoned by Georgia’s State Security Service for questioning regarding his communication with an expert involved in the OSCE Moscow Mechanism, a procedure that allows participating states to commission independent experts to investigate and report on serious human rights concerns in another member state without that state’s consent.

The summons followed the publication on 12 March of a report by the OSCE rapporteur highlighting “marked democratic backsliding” in Georgia since spring 2024, including concerns about restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly, alleged ill-treatment of protesters, and unlawful detention on political grounds.

The report recommended the immediate release of all those detained or imprisoned on politically motivated grounds and the repeal of legislation deemed incompatible with Georgia’s international human rights obligations. Georgian authorities, including senior government officials, have rejected the findings, dismissing them as biased.

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