US hits more Georgian officials with asset freezes and visa bans for ‘undermining democracy’

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is hitting more senior Georgian officials and others with sanctions for undermining the country’s democracy and violating basic human rights.

The State and Treasury departments announced Monday that they had imposed asset freezes on two top Interior Ministry officials, a media executive and a media personality for “violently suppressing the exercise of the freedom of peaceful assembly of Georgians engaged in the democratic process and peaceful expression.”

In addition, the State Department said it was slapping visa bans on more than 60 Georgian government and municipal figures, business leaders, law enforcement officers and members of parliament for undermining democracy in the often violent debate earlier this year over a new law on foreign agent registration, which critics liken to one used in Russia to crack down on dissent. The department did not name those targeted due to visa confidentiality.

Among the four publicly identified targets are the chief of the Interior Ministry’s special task department, Zviad “Khareba” Kharazishvili, and one of his deputies, Mileri Lagazauri.

The two civilians are Konstantine Morgoshia, a founder of the Alt-Info media company, which Treasury said amplified disinformation and spread hate speech, and Zurab Makharadze, an online personality affiliated with Alt-Info who is accused of encouraging violence against minorities and journalists.

The sanctions announced Monday are the latest round of penalties the administration has imposed on Georgian officials after the passage this spring of the controversial legislation, which sparked weeks of mass protests.

In late July, the administration suspended $95 million in U.S. assistance to Georgia, a country in the South Caucasus that was once part of the Soviet Union.

The Georgian parliament passed the legislation in May, overriding a veto by the president. The law requires media and nongovernmental organizations to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.

Critics say that it closely resembles legislation the Kremlin used to silence opponents and that it will obstruct Georgia’s bid to join the EU.