The sanctions come amid mass protests against the Georgian government’s decision to halt EU membership efforts.
The United States has imposed sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s former prime minister and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, amid protests against a break in the efforts to join the European Union.
In a statement on Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Ivanishvili and his party undermined democratic institutions and “derailed Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future” in favor of Russia.
“Ivanishvili and Georgian Dream’s actions have undermined democratic institutions, enabled human rights violations and restricted the exercise of fundamental freedoms in Georgia,” Blinken said.
Georgian Dream and Prime Minister Iraqi Kobakhidze announced last month that they would do so Suspend conversations on Georgia’s accession to the EU by 2028.
The announcement followed a European Parliament resolution refusing to recognize the results of Georgia’s Oct. 26 elections based on allegations of “significant irregularities,” which Kobakhidze described as an “act of blackmail.”
The goal of joining the EU was written into Georgia’s constitution in 2017, and demonstrators protested went onto the street against the suspension of membership efforts.
While Kobakhidze has said Georgia will continue to pursue EU membership with the aim of joining by 2030, protests continued against moves by the ruling party that critics said targeted civil society groups and press freedom.
The government responded to the mass demonstrations with harsh police action.
The police have it too ambushed Opposition party offices, and the prime minister has rejected calls for one New elections.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said earlier this week that Georgian police responded to largely peaceful protests in the capital Tbilisi with “brutal force.”
“In widespread and apparently punitive actions, security forces have chased, violently detained and beaten protesters,” the human rights group said in a Dec. 24 statement.
“The police also tortured and otherwise ill-treated them in police cars and police stations.”
The EU has also condemned the action and said that the union “stands with the Georgian people and their choice for a European future.”
On December 18th, the USA sanctioned Several senior Georgian Interior Ministry officials have been accused of being involved in the crackdown on protesters.
Meanwhile, Friday’s sanctions freeze Ivanishvili’s assets in the United States.
Ivanishvili and his allies in the government have repeatedly said in recent years that the billionaire was already under “de facto sanctions” from the US, something Washington has denied.
Georgian Dream did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters on the new sanctions.
