In April, parliament used newly adopted amendments to the parliamentary code of conduct for media, which require the consent of MPs for interviews, to suspend the accreditations of six journalists, reportedly in retaliation for their critical questions. Human rights defenders and other civil society actors reported increased threats, smears and harassment for criticizing the government, as well as risks to physical safety. In July, at least six government critics reported being subjected to physical attacks that appeared coordinated. The attacks were publicly condoned by senior ruling party members. On 17 June, students protesting at Tbilisi State University during a lecture by the ruling party chair were reportedly beaten by a group of government supporters. One of the students described being threatened by a police officer with a gun while in hospital. An investigation into the incident was pending at year’s end. In October, several activists who took part in a training run by the NGO Center for Applied Nonviolent Actions and Strategies, were called in for questioning by the security services, who claimed that the trainers were orchestrating the violent overthrow of the government. The organizers and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders dismissed the allegation as groundless and an attempt to smear civil society. FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY The authorities increasingly used unnecessary and disproportionate force to break up peaceful protests and introduced new restrictive measures, particularly after widespread protests against the draft bill on transparency of foreign influence. By contrast, violent groups attacking members of the political opposition and the LGBTI community at Pride events, largely enjoyed impunity and were undeterred by police. On 17 October, the president vetoed an amendment to the Law on Assemblies and Demonstrations which would have prohibited protesters from erecting “temporary constructions” deemed “not essential” to the The State of the World’s Human Rights gathering, thereby placing undue restrictions on freedom of assembly. During the largely peaceful protests against the bill on transparency of foreign influence, on 2 March police broke up a rally and arrested 36 people on administrative charges, including two journalists covering the demonstration. On 7-8 March police used tear gas and water cannons without prior warning against thousands protesting in front of parliament, arresting 146 on administrative charges. Dozens were fined between GEL 500 (USD 190) and GEL 2,000 (USD 750) for petty hooliganism or disobeying police. At least one protester, Lazare Grigoriadis, was held in pretrial detention on charges of violence against police. Parliament withdrew the bill on 10 March. On 2 June, seven activists conducting a peaceful sit-in in front of parliament, holding banners and blank pieces of paper, were arrested by police, denied contact with their families or lawyers, and fined up to GEL 2,000 (USD 750) for hooliganism and disobeying police. UNFAIR TRIALS The judicial system continued to experience what local NGOs described as a crisis of legitimacy and trust as concerns regarding selective justice and politically motivated prosecutions persisted. On 5 April, the US Department of State sanctioned four senior Georgian judges for corruption, abusing their position and undermining the judicial system. The trial of former president Mikheil Saakashvili, imprisoned on charges including corruption and abuse of power, continued. On 6 February, a court ruled against his release on humanitarian grounds, despite his severely deteriorating health and reported lack of adequate medical care. On 23 June Nika Gvaramia, co-founder of the pro-opposition Mtavari TV, was released by presidential pardon. He had been sentenced to three years and six months’ imprisonment on groundless charges of abuse of power. A week prior, the Supreme Court had rejected his appeal. 177