The United States and the United Kingdom have announced sanctions on Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri and other senior officials in the ministry in response to their alleged role in a violent crackdown on journalists, opposition figures, and anti-government protesters.
The United States also imposed sanctions on Mirza Kezevadze, deputy head of the special forces department in the Georgian Interior Ministry, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement on December 19.
The Treasury Department said it was taking the action in coordination with Britain, which on December 19 imposed sanctions on Gomelauri and four other officials of the Interior Ministry for alleged human rights violations.
A U.S. Treasury Department official said the reasons cited by the two governments for imposing the sanctions were similar.
“In the wake of Georgia’s election, key officials in the Ministry of Internal Affairs engaged in a severe and vicious crackdown against their own people, including the intentional targeting of journalists and use of violence,” Acting Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith said in the statement.
Any assets owned by Gomelauri and Kezevadze in U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, making their business operations more difficult, the Treasury Department statement said.
In addition to Gomelauri, Britain imposed sanctions on deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, Sulkhan Tamazashvili, Zviad Kharazishvili, and Mileri Lagazauri, according to a U.K. government statement.
Thousands demonstrated in Tbilisi again on the night of December 19. It was the 22nd consecutive day of protests against the government's decision to effectively halt the country's EU accession talks.
SEE ALSO: The Bitter Standoff Over Georgia's Next PresidentThe protesters have questioned the legitimacy of the victory of the Georgian Dream party in the election that took place at the end of October.
The demonstrations intensified after Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that Tbilisi was suspending until 2028 talks with Brussels on Georgia's bid to join the European Union.
“Security forces from the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Special Task Department responded to protests with disproportionate violence to suppress dissent and discourage protesters,” the U.S. Treasury Department’s statement said.
Georgia's pro-Europe president, Salome Zurabishvili, has said the October 26 election was rigged with the help of Moscow and has vowed not to leave office even when her successor -- selected by what protesters say is an illegitimate parliament -- is scheduled to be sworn in on December 29.
Zurabishvili has condemned the "brutal and disproportionate attacks on the Georgian people and media," comparing the crackdown to "Russian-style repression."
Demonstrations have repeatedly been violently broken up, activists have been detained, and opposition politicians and media representatives attacked.
Georgia received EU candidate status in December 2023, and according to surveys, a majority of Georgians support EU membership.
Kobakhidze has refused to back down and threatened to punish political opponents, whom he accuses of being behind violence that has occurred at the protests.
Georgia’s relations with Brussels soured with the adoption of a Russian-style "foreign agent" law that critics say threatens media and civil society groups by accusing them of "serving" outside powers.