Welcome to the April edition of EED News.
In Georgia, the situation of civil society and independent media continues to deteriorate, as the impact of repressive legislation is further felt by civil society and independent media. A Special Penitentiary Commission denied early release to imprisoned journalist and Sakharov Prize Laureate Mzia Amaglobeli, despite positive evaluations of her conduct. This month’s Amnesty International “The State of the World’s Human Rights” report notes that the country has “plunged head-on into authoritarian practices, with systematic crackdowns on dissent”. A separate report “Collaboration and Resistance: Tracking Transnational Repression in 2025” by Freedom House identified Georgia as one of six new countries using tactics of transnational repression.
In early April, the authorities deported exiled Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadigov to Azerbaijan exposing him to potential politically motivated prosecution and ill-treatment, in defiance of a 2025 European Court of Human Rights injuction that had halted the transfer.
Also in Georgia, a number of demonstrators and journalists have reported that their bank accounts were frozen over recent months following police accusations that they had “artificially blocked” roads during rallies in Tbilisi last year. Most were not aware of these fines until they lost access to their bank accounts. Against this backdrop, EED media partners describe an increasingly hostile working environment, with many continuing to operate without funding. Despite this, many media outlets are reporting record numbers of readers and viewers. Similarly, new grassroots activists groups are emerging in growing numbers, a sign that, despite constraints, civic energy remains strong.
In Belarus, the parliament adopted a new law on 2 April banning so-called “propaganda” on same-sex relationships, gender reassignment and “childishness”. Rights advocates warn the law will be weaponised against civil society organisations and independent media as part of a broader crackdown on free expression, closely mirroring Russia’s approach. Prismatica, a key platform of LGBTQI+ activists, released a statement noting that this move marks a fundamental shift in Belarus from propagandistic homophobia to its formal entrenchment within the legal system: "The very visibility of queer people and communities is declared 'extremism'. Such practices undermine legal certainty and creates conditions in which any form of self-expression can be interpreted as a violation."
In Ukraine, EED partners continue to operate in highly challenging conditions with intensifying Russian attacks over a difficult winter, including on media infrastructure and journalists, as well as smear attacks against independent journalists and anti-corruption activists mostly involving anonymous Telegram channels. This has been described as a systemic targeting of Ukraine's media infrastructure and journalists. Among outlets repeatedly hit are current and former EED partners, including Cukr, ZMIST, Vilne Radio, Hromadske Radio, Realna Gazeta, and NV.
In an effort to bring together a community of changemakers, EED has organised two iterations of the School for Democracy Leaders, gathering nearly 40 civil society and media leaders from different regions of Ukraine to exchange ideas about leadership during wartime and avenues for civic influence during martial law. On 19 April, EED grantees discussed Ukraine’s EU integration and reform issues with EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova. During the School, Second Secretary of the Development Cooperation Section of the Embassy of Canada Maria Habanikova reiterated Canada’s commitment to stand alongside Ukraine’s civil society. In a separate session, women leaders engaged in a workshop with civic activist and former Member of the Ukrainian Parliament Lesia Orobets on issues relating to women’s participation in public life.
In Tunisia, civil society and independent media are working on the frontlines of an increasingly contested civic space. Today, several Tunisian NGOs face an imminent risk of dissolution through legal proceedings, following complaints filed by the Office of the Presidency of the Government. This follows successive waves of temporary suspension of CSOs’ activities that according to unofficial reports, have targeted dozens of organisations, including very recently the Tunisian League for Human Rights.
Partners report that the situation is increasingly difficult with independent voices routinely targeted, silenced, or forced into self-censorship. They are subject to a coordinated use of administrative regulations, including financial audits, compliance reviews, and organisational suspensions that target civil society actors indiscriminately. This is having a chilling effect on democracy actors, particularly in an environment where several prominent human rights lawyers, activists, and independent journalists are in detention, with some sentenced to prison in politically motivated trials. This goes hand in hand with a presidential rhetoric that demonises civil society and labels them "foreign agents" and "enemies of the state".
Despite these significant challenges, Tunisia's civic fabric has not collapsed. Activism has experienced a revival, as was witnessed during the large scale protests in Gabès in late 2025 driven by popular anger over industrial pollution. In March, a new citizen civic initiative was launched, calling for the repeal of Decree-Law 54, adopted in September 2022 and presented as a cybercrime tool. This legislation has been used to prosecute journalists and ordinary citizens for the dissemination of so-called “false information”, with penalties of up to five years in prison and fines of 50,000 dinars.
Faced with these pressures, EED partners have responded by restructuring and reorganising activities, and adopting more robust compliance systems, as well as physical and online security measures. EED’s capacity to deliver rapid-response funding and tailored grants continues to be critical in supporting partners navigate these challenging circumstances.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, an EED partner signed memoranda of cooperation with the Ministries of Education of Sarajevo Canton and Bosnian Podrinje Canton, as well as the Srebrenica Memorial Center, to incorporate its database of judicially established facts about the 1992–1995 war into school curricula. A similar agreement was reached earlier with Tuzla Canton. The initiative is a concrete step toward evidence-based history teaching in a system where curricula on the war remain fragmented and politically shaped.
Journalists from independent media, including EED partners, continue to face intimidations and political pressures. An EED partner working on environmental protection faced a criminal hearing last month after activists cut pipes supplying water to approximately 300 illegal structures around the legally protected Prokoško Lake. The activists were prosecuted for property damage, although the structures violate the law. The case has drawn significant media and civil society attention, as an example of selective enforcement of legislation, and a lack of state action against violations of environmental law. In another widely covered case, an editor-in-chief of an EED media partner was physically and verbally assaulted, and their equipment damaged while investigating a construction project on former public land. The police initially classified the incident as a misdemeanour rather than a criminal case.
In Serbia, local elections were held across 10 small Serbian municipalities in an atmosphere charged by over a year of anti-government protests. The ruling party ran an overwhelmingly state-backed campaign under President Vučić's name, mobilising public resources, all national media, and on election day they organised groups of thugs who attacked citizens, observers, and journalists, with several people hospitalised. Widespread fraud was documented, and CRTA described conditions in Bor as outright "terror". While the government won as expected, there was a drop in the number of votes. Lists backed by the student movement won between 30 and 48 percent of the vote, leaving the ruling party with a majority of just one seat in five of the ten municipalities
There was some good news from Montenegro, following the European Union’s decision last week to establish a working group to draft an accession treaty with Montenegro. As noted by Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos: “Montenegro is in the endgame, but there is still a lot of work ahead, including some of the most difficult reforms,” namely the need for strong and stable institutions to guarantee democracy, the rule of law and human rights. EED partners continue to support improvements in key fields such as human rights action and judiciary, and are monitoring judicial processes. EED partner, Human Rights Action, conducted continuous monitoring of the selection of Constitutional Court judges, bringing attention to legal criteria, transparency, and to the proper staffing of the Court. One judge was elected and only one spot remains unfulfilled.
Also this April, Lisbeth Pilegaard, Chair of the Executive Committee, spoke on a panel at the Ottawa Civic Space Summit held from 21 to 23 April, entitled "Defend Democracy's Frontlines: Understanding Drivers of Civic Space Backsliding" about the ways donors can support civil society and civic actors in a civic space under pressure, such as by providing flexible funding, in an era of increased bureaucratic demands on democracy actors, and she emphasised that democracy and democratic societies are a strategic necessity, and the basis for stable and secure societies. Panelists also noted that authoritarianism is evolving through digital control and shrinking civic space, while civil society remains fragmented. They questioned how we can defend democratic systems that have not fully defended all citizens, and how civic space can be redefined.
