Washington, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 17th Dec, 2024) The United States is preparing to impose new sanctions against Georgia over concerns of democratic backsliding, the State Department said on Monday.
Georgia has been gripped by anti-government protests after the decision to suspend all European Union accession negotiations until 2028 — with the demonstrations met with a forceful crackdown by authorities.
“We have been greatly concerned about the state of Georgian democracy, the actions that Georgia Dream has taken to undermine Georgia democracy,” said spokesman Matthew Miller, referring to the political party that claimed to have won October parliamentary elections.
“We have other sanctions that we are preparing to unfold in the coming weeks.”
Washington announced on Friday that it had barred visas for around 20 people accused of undermining democracy in Georgia, including sitting ministers and parliamentarians, though they were not identified by name.
The visa bans followed sanctions imposed on Georgian officials in May over the adoption of a “foreign influence” law, criticized as a Russian-style regulation to stymie civil society.
Thousands have taken to the streets of the capital Tbilisi over the last month, accusing Georgia Dream of electoral fraud in the October 26 parliamentary elections, taking the country off the path to EU membership and pushing the ex-Soviet republic toward Moscow’s orbit.
Riot police have used tear gas and water cannon against largely peaceful demonstrators, and the European Union has said there are “credible concerns” of authorities using torture on detainees.
Despite a raft of EU states seeking to take a tougher line on Georgia, Hungary’s nationalist leader Viktor Orban — a staunch supporter of Georgia’s government — has repeatedly rejected attempts to sanction Tbilisi.
The latest such move came Monday, when Hungary blocked EU foreign ministries from sanctioning Georgian officials.
