As anti-government protests continue to roil Georgia, authorities have been acquiring high-tech surveillance cameras produced by a controversial Chinese firm, sparking concerns over potential repression and intensified monitoring of demonstrators.
Since December, state bodies including a Ministry of Internal Affairs unit and the Tbilisi municipality have bought surveillance cameras and licenses totalling $1.2 million to be deployed in the Georgian capital, public procurement records show.Â
Among the purchases are 251 advanced cameras manufactured by Dahua Technology, a Chinese firm that has faced international scrutiny over its alleged role in state surveillance programs in China, including the repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.Â
Dahua’s technology, which includes artificial intelligence-powered facial recognition, has raised alarm among activists in Tbilisi.
It remains unclear where the newly purchased cameras have been installed, but demonstrators say they have noticed a growing number of surveillance devices near key protest sites. Images of cameras purportedly being placed in protest zones have circulated on social media, fueling fears that authorities are monitoring participants.
Robi Getiashvili, a protester in Tbilisi, said that he had seen more cameras around the Parliament. “This is about instilling fear, suppressing protests, and maintaining control.”
Another demonstrator, Rusudan Djakeli, expressed similar concerns, saying authorities appear to be using surveillance as a means of intimidation, “to scare people away from protesting,” she said in an email.
Shorena Loladze, a legal expert with the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, a human rights organization, said the government’s use of surveillance extends beyond issuing fines. Some protesters are being monitored in real time, she said, citing allegations that officials zoomed in on documents held by demonstrators to collect personal information.
The government is “doing this to create a chilling effect on other demonstrators,” she added. “People fear fines on one hand, and on the other, they fear being watched.”
According to a report by the Georgian non-governmental organization Civic Idea, government spending on Chinese surveillance equipment surged in 2024, exceeding 2 million laris (about $750,000), compared to just 151,592 laris the previous year. The increase aligns with Georgia’s deepening ties with China, which have grown since Tbilisi and Beijing signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2023, as the country distances itself from the European Union.
Neither Dahua Technology, Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, nor the Tbilisi municipal government responded to requests for comment.
