US Sanctions Georgian Officials for Alleged Violence Against Protestors

Protesters barricade the entrance of the Georgian Parliament during a rally to protest against a "foreign agents" bill, in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 2, 2024. Irakli Gedenidze/Reuters

The United States has imposed a fresh raft of sanctions on Georgian officials for allegedly using excessive force against demonstrators earlier this year.

“Today’s action underscores our concern about the consequences of anti-democratic actions in Georgia and efforts by key individuals to use violence and intimidation to achieve their aims,” Bradley T. Smith, the U.S. Treasury Department’s acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement released by the Treasury Department on Sept. 16.

The move follows Georgia’s adoption of an anti-foreign influence law earlier this year that requires organizations that receive overseas funding to register as “organizations pursuing foreign interests.”

Proponents of the law, including the ruling Georgian Dream party, say the legislation is needed to protect the country from malign foreign influences.

Critics say the law stifles free expression and will ruin the prospect of Georgia, a small country in the South Caucasus region, joining the European Union.

Before the law was adopted in May, several Western institutions and states—including the United States, the EU, the UK, and France—had urged Georgia to scrap it, describing the legislation as undemocratic and Kremlin-inspired.

Several large protests took place in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, in the weeks before the law’s adoption, frequently ending in violent clashes between demonstrators and police.

From the outset, Georgian authorities have maintained that protesters started the violence.

Washington says the police used excessive force against nonviolent demonstrators.

“Violence perpetrated by [Georgia’s] Special Task Department included the brutal beatings of many attendees of the non-violent protests against the new foreign influence law,” the Treasury Department said.

The sanctions target the head of the Special Task Department—run by Georgia’s interior ministry—and his deputy, along with two private individuals close to the ruling party.

Also, on Sept. 16, the State Department slapped visa restrictions on dozens of Georgian officials who it said had engaged in “human rights abuses, corrupt practices, or other anti-democratic actions.”

It wasn’t the first time. In June, the State Department announced a first tranche of restrictions on Georgian officials accused of being “complicit in undermining democracy.”

It also announced plans to conduct a “full review” of its relationship with Georgia’s government.

Soon afterward, the Pentagon “indefinitely postponed” scheduled U.S.–Georgia joint military exercises.

At the time, Georgia’s ruling party accused the West of resorting to “threats and blackmail” and seeking to limit “Georgia’s independence and sovereignty.”

In July, Brussels responded to the ratification of the anti-foreign influence law—and the accompanying demonstrations—by suspending Georgia’s EU accession process.

It also announced the suspension of 30 million euros (about $33.4 million) in military assistance previously earmarked by the EU for Georgia’s armed forces.

Soon afterward, the State Department announced it was pausing more than $95 million in scheduled U.S. financial assistance to Georgia.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has described Washington’s punitive moves as “counterproductive” and called for a “reset” of U.S.–Georgia relations.

Activists protest against a "foreign influence" bill outside parliament in Tbilisi, Georgia, on April 15, 2024. Vano Shlamov/AFP/Getty Images

2008 War Revisited

Western officials have compared Georgia’s new foreign influence law to legislation ostensibly used by the Kremlin to stifle dissent.

They have further said that the law’s adoption shows that Georgia, a former Soviet republic, is gravitating closer to Moscow.

In 2008, Russia won a brief war with Georgia—allegedly initiated by the latter—over the small but strategically important regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Since then, Russia has maintained military forces in both territories, which it recognizes as “independent republics.”

Tbilisi and most Western capitals, meanwhile, still view the regions as part of Georgia.

On Sept. 14, Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the Georgian Dream party, stated that Georgia was responsible for the 2008 war.

In remarks carried by local media, he said Tbilisi should “apologize” to the people of South Ossetia for starting the conflict and thereby drawing Russian military intervention.

Ivanishvili, a former prime minister, also claimed that Mikheil Saakashvili, who served as Georgia’s president from 2004 to 2013, had allegedly started the conflict with Russia at the behest of foreign powers.

Saakashvili is currently serving a six-year prison term for abusing power during his time in office.

In a statement, Saakashvili’s United National Movement party condemned Ivanishvili’s remarks, saying they served Moscow’s interests.

A U.S. State Department spokesman also weighed in on Ivanishvili’s contentious assertions.

“I don’t think Georgia needs to apologize for having been invaded by Russia any more than Georgia needs to apologize for the fact that Russia continues to illegally occupy 20 percent of Georgian territory,” he told reporters on Sept. 16.

Reuters contributed to this report.