US sanctions dozens in Georgia ahead of pivotal elections

The Biden administration is sanctioning two Georgian government officials and more than 60 individuals in the former Soviet state over human rights abuses and anti-democratic actions, part of ongoing fallout from the Georgian government’s passage of a controversial foreign influence law. 

The announcement also comes ahead of next month’s pivotal election, in which pro-European opposition parties are looking to unseat the Russia-friendly ruling party. 

The U.S. is sanctioning senior security officials for overseeing a violent crackdown against Georgian citizens, political opposition leaders, journalists and youth activists who took to the streets over the past two years protesting the government’s pursuit of legislation that mirrors Russia’s 2012 “foreign agents” law.

The ruling Georgian Dream party pushed through the law's passage in April despite wide-spread opposition and fears it will be used to shut down and criminalize voices critical of the government.

“The United States remains deeply concerned by the ongoing anti-democratic actions of the Georgian government, which are incompatible with membership norms of the European Union and NATO,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Monday.

“In addition to the passage of the so-called ‘foreign influence law,’ we have also seen the Georgian government repeatedly violently crack down on Georgian citizens who protested that law.” 

The U.S. sanctions target Zviad “Khareba” Kharazishvili, special task department chief of Georgia's Ministry of Internal Affairs, and one of his Deputies, Mileri Lagazauri, “for their involvement in serious human rights abuse during the violent response to peaceful protests against the foreign influence law,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. 

Georgian security forces violently suppressed demonstrators who came out in May to protest the government’s passage of the “foreign influence law.” The law requires civil society and media organizations that receive funding from abroad to register with the Ministry of Justice as promoting the influence of a foreign power.

Media reports at the time cite protesters being hit by rubber bullets by Georgian security forces despite denials by the agency, and water cannons, tear gas and chemical spray used to disperse protesters. 

Human Rights Watch said last month that the Georgian government has failed to effectively investigate a spate of violent attacks on civic and political activists.

Among the measures announced by the U.S. on Monday are sanctions targeting the founder of the media company Alt-Info, Konstantine Morgoshia, and Zurab Makharadze, a prominent media personality that allegedly used the media company to amplify disinformation and hate speech. 

The Treasury Department said in a statement that Morgoshia and Makharadze have advocated violence against marginalized groups peacefully protesting and led hundreds of followers to carry out violence on protesters, break into offices of nongovernmental organizations, and attack journalists and police officers. 

The U.S. also said it was imposing visa restrictions on 60 unnamed individuals and their family members “responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Georgia.” The State Department is barred by law from releasing the identities of those it places under a visa ban. 

Blinken said in a statement that individuals barred from entering the U.S. include “senior government and municipal figures who abused their power to restrict the fundamental freedoms of the Georgian people, business leaders involved in corrupt practices, persons who have spread disinformation and promoted violent extremism, members of law enforcement who were involved in the beating of protesters, and members of parliament who played a critical role in advancing undemocratic legislation and restricting civil society.”

The actions by the Biden administration are part of an “ongoing comprehensive review” of the U.S. relationship with Georgia in the wake of the passage of the foreign influence law and other actions by the ruling Georgian Dream party criticized as anti-democratic. 

Among the actions are the U.S. suspending $95 million in assistance to the Georgian government, postponing a joint military exercise between U.S. and Georgian forces, and previous visa bans. 

Georgia’s parliamentary elections are scheduled for Oct. 26, where a divided and fractured opposition is trying to overcome differences in ousting the ruling Georgian Dream party. 

Georgian Dream is criticized by opposition groups, the European Union and the U.S. for jeopardizing ties with global democracies, undermining the country’s democratic institutions and moving the country into Russia’s sphere of influence.