The Department of State is announcing additional action today under the visa restriction policy that prohibits visa issuance to those who are responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Georgia. Today’s action will affect approximately twenty individuals, including individuals serving as government ministers and in Parliament, law enforcement and security officials, and private citizens, US State Department reports.

 

“The United States strongly condemns the Georgian Dream party’s ongoing, brutal, and unjustified violence against Georgian citizens, including protesters, members of the media, human rights activists, and opposition figures.  Georgian Dream has turned away from Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future, which the Georgian people overwhelmingly desire and the Georgian constitution envisions.   We are committed to seeing that senior officials responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy will be subject to visa restrictions.

 

We are preparing additional actions, including sanctions, to hold to account those who undermine democracy in Georgia.  Alongside the people of Georgia, we want to see a strong, prosperous, and democratic Georgia firmly integrated in the Euro-Atlantic community.  Our actions today demonstrate U.S. resolve and add to previously announced actions implicating more than 100 Georgian Dream-affiliated individuals and their family members,” the statement reads.