Georgia’s State Security Service has issued a surprise statement calling citizens to refrain from mentioning the world “revolution” in social networks.
“Calling for a violent change of the constitutional order of Georgia or the overthrow of state order, and/or dissemination of material containing such a call, as well as a call to arms for the same purpose, is a criminal offense under Article 317 of the Criminal Code of Georgia and punishable up to three years of imprisonment," the statement reads.
The agency specifically referred to online discussions in the aftermath of the local election runoffs results of which in key cities many people, including Georgian election watchdogs believe may have been affected by the scale and nature of irregularities, such as invalidating opposition ballots.
Mocking the statement by citizens and journalists became highlight of Georgian social media discussions yesterday.
“Here I am, I write the word revolution and arrest me,” popular TV anchor Inga Grigolia said
Legal experts and politicians see threat to freedom of expression in the State Security Service statement.
“According to Georgian laws, such calls are publishable when they entail intentional, clear, imminent and direct threat of an illegal outcome. An example of what must have been punished were statements on July 5 when organizers of violence directly announced their intent to commit criminal actions which they indeed carried out. Neither did the State Security Service react at that point or in the aftermath of that violence,” European Georgia Chairman Giga Bokeria said.
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