The United Kingdom has reported sanctions against four senior Georgian officials it considers responsible for human rights violations during the suppression of protests in the country.
This was reported by the British government.
The following were restricted:
- Prosecutor General Giorgi Gabitashvili;
- Head of the Special Investigation Service Karlo Katsitadze;
- First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia Shalva Bedoidze;
- Deputy Head of the Special Tasks Department Mirza Kezevadze.
Officials are accused of failing to investigate the violence against protesters, journalists, and opposition representatives who took to the streets in 2024 due to the actions of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
All four were banned from entering the UK and their assets in the country were frozen.
What preceded
Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia in October. According to the Central Election Commission, the pro-government, pro-Russian party Georgian Dream — Democratic Georgia won, gaining 53.9% of the vote. Under Georgian law, this party has the right to form a government alone. The European Parliament did not recognize the election results.
Four more pro-Western opposition parties broke the 5% barrier. The opposition and the president disagreed with the results, and protests began.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze reported on November 28, 2024, that Georgia was abandoning EU accession negotiations until 2028. He explained that 2028 would supposedly be the time when Georgia would be economically ready to begin accession negotiations. After that, large-scale protests began in the country, which were dispersed by security forces using water cannons and tear gas.
Amid the violent crackdown on the protests, the US suspended the US-Georgian strategic partnership, and Georgian representatives in several EU countries and the US announced that they were resigning. Ukraine also imposed sanctions on the Georgian authorities for the crackdown on the protests. The United Kingdom will also suspend support for the Georgian authorities and limit cooperation with them.
Lithuania and Estonia have expanded sanctions against Georgian politicians over their involvement in the persecution of peaceful protesters, journalists, and the opposition.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.