Neutral Georgia movement backs freezing of NGOs’ bank accounts

A Georgian political movement opposed to the country’s NATO and EU aspirations has defended the freezing of bank accounts belonging to seven non-governmental organisations (NGOs), accusing them of funding radical groups.

Levan Nikoleishvili, a leader of United Neutral Georgia, wrote on social media on Wednesday that the organisations under investigation had concealed their financial transparency, broken the law and financed “radical groups for unrest, violent acts and revolution”.

He dismissed civil society’s criticism of the court decision, saying their “indignation has no limits” and predicting protests both domestically and from abroad. “Radicalism and its financiers are being targeted by the law, just as it is done in our ‘longed-for Europe’,” Nikoleishvili added.

Founded in 2024, United Neutral Georgia has positioned itself as a movement advocating for Georgia’s neutrality and rejecting EU and NATO integration. Its leaders argue that Western alignment threatens the country’s sovereignty and national identity. The group has also called for tougher measures against opposition parties and civil society organisations, often echoing the rhetoric of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

The freezing of NGO bank accounts, ordered by Tbilisi City Court on Wednesday at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office, has sparked backlash from civil society. The women’s rights group Sapari described the decision as “baseless and defamatory”, warning of “Russian-style repression” against Georgia’s non-governmental sector.