Georgian PM calls US sanctions on Gov’t officials “insult to Georgian state”

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday called recent sanctions imposed by the United States Government on two Georgian Government officials, who he said had participated in the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia, an “insult to the Georgian state”.

Kobakhidze noted the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs and law enforcement officers had prevented a “revolutionary scenario” in the country, and described the sanctions as a “manifestation of irritation” toward the state.

The US Department of Treasury last month imposed visa and financial sanctions on Zviad Kharazishvili, the Director of the Special Tasks Department of Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, his deputy Milleri Lagazauri, as well as Konstantine Morgoshia and Zurab Makharadze - the leaders of the Georgian-based pro-Russian media outlet Alt-Info.

• Ruling party Executive Secretary slams US sanctions as “insult” to police, calls move “election interference”

The US State Department also expanded visa sanctions to include 60 individuals and their family members who it said were involved in “undermining democracy, spreading disinformation, and engaging in corruption within the country”.

The PM said these individuals faced sanctions “without any evidence against them", and equated the sanctions to “criminal punishment”, while also noting the lack of judicial protection for sanctioned individuals, highlighting the “guarantee of judicial rights is a fundamental principle of a legal state”.

It is very good that the Georgian state protects the interests of these people, otherwise, imagine if you were completely removed from civil circulation, restricted from any access to banking transactions - this is a kind of ‘apocalyptic’ sanction”, he said.

This is an attempt at blackmail, which will have no effect. These two people were punished for what? We are not talking about American institutions, but about the Global War Party”, he said in reference to unspecified political forces in the West who the ruling party has alleged seek to create a revolutionary scenario in Georgia and involve the country into opening a "second front" amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The head of the Government also questioned an “absence” of non-governmental organisations that “claim to defend human rights” in this context.