Sanctioning family members is inconsistent with human rights standards - ruling party head
The state acts under the Law on Occupied Territories regarding the entry of specific people into the country, the GD official noted, explaining the main criteria that “if an individual has not violated the law, the customs service did not have a reason to prohibit them from entering the country”. Photo via Georgian Dream press office
Tweet 
Share
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Sunday said imposing sanctions on family members of politicians was inconsistent with human rights standards, citing that as a legal state, Georgia could only sanction individuals who had “directly” committed criminal acts.
The Georgian Government has not joined personal sanctions against Russian citizens imposed for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, Kobakhidze explained while commenting on the protest outside Kvareli Lake Resort in Georgia's east, which followed the information spread on Friday alleging that the sanctioned daughter of Russian official Lavrov and her husband were staying in Kvareli Lake Resort and the hotel would be hosting the wedding party of Lavrov’s family members.
He emphasised that yesterday's rally with physical confrontations between law enforcement and protesters had ended with the detention of 16 individuals for administrative offences by Georgian police. The rally participants had “only one goal - escalation, creating turmoil in the country, organising provocations, with the ultimate target to open a second front [in Georgia amid the war in Ukraine]”, Kobakhidze added.
The state acts under the Law on Occupied Territories regarding the entry of specific people into the country, the GD official noted, explaining the main criteria that “if an individual has not violated the law, the customs service did not have a reason to prohibit them from entering the country”.
Kobakhidze also called on President Salome Zourabichvili not to speak on behalf of the Georgian people, as they had given the legitimacy of determining the policy in the country to the Georgian Dream government and the Parliament.
Georgian Public Defender Levan Ioseliani on Sunday said the leader of the Droa opposition party, Elene Khoshtaria, who had been detained for administrative offences on Saturday, refused to meet with the representative of the Public Defender’s office.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Saturday said the wedding of Russian citizens would not take place in Georgia, noting the family had already left the country.
Georgian Police arrested 16 individuals for administrative offences during a protest outside Kvareli Lake Resort in Georgia's east, the local media outlet Interpressnews said on Saturday.
Georgian Police have arrested six individuals protesting the landing of the first jet of a Russian airline at Tbilisi International Airport on Friday since the Kremlin’s move last week to resume direct flights and lift visa restrictions with Georgia.
Gia Volski, the ruling Georgian Dream party MP and the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Monday said the Government imposing sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine would lead to “counter-sanctions” that would bring “serious consequences” for the country.
Sixteen individuals who were arrested on Saturday for disobedience of police and petty hooliganism in eastern Georgia while protesting the presence of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s relatives for marriage celebrations were released late on Sunday.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday said the country’s Government imposing sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine would lead to “retaliatory measures” that would ultimately “threaten the security” of the country.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday said “no fact, or even a credible rumour” of violations of international sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine had been established on the territory of Georgia, in response to a media report that linked a sea freight shipment between Georgia’s Black Sea city of Batumi and the Russian port of Novorossiysk on Monday.