The United Kingdom has sanctioned four senior Georgian officials, including First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Shalva Bedoidze, for alleged serious human rights abuses during recent political disturbances.
The British government imposed the sanctions on Thursday, accusing the officials of taking part in violent crackdowns against protesters who were protesting against Georgia’s move to put European Union accession talks on hold until 2028. The protests, which broke out in November, have gone on for months as protesters express anger over the government’s shift away from deeper EU integration.
As reported by the UK Foreign Office, Bedoidze was personally involved in “gross violations” of human rights, specifically the right to freedom from cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. It accused the Georgian police of using excessive force to break up peaceful protesters under the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Apart from Bedoidze, those who have been sanctioned are Mirza Kezevadze, Deputy Head of the Special Tasks Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; Giorgi Gabitashvili, General Prosecutor of Georgia; and Karlo Katsitadze, Head of the Special Investigatory Service.
The four have been sanctioned under the UK’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime that targets individuals and entities who have committed serious human rights abuses around the globe.
These sanctions deliver a clear message that the UK stands ready to hold individuals responsible for egregious human rights abuses wherever and whenever they may be,” Foreign Office stated.
The Georgian authorities have yet to make any official response to this action of Britain.
The move by the UK follows intensifying alarm in Western countries over Georgia‘s direction of politics and treatment of civil society and demonstrators. London becomes part of a refrain of international voices calling on Georgia to maintain democratic principles and human rights as it charts its course on the world stage with the imposition of these latest sanctions.
