Lithuania imposes sanctions on 17 more Georgian politicians and officials
Georgian officials are banned from entering Lithuania (photo: Getty Images)
On Sunday, December 15, Lithuania, in agreement with Estonia, expanded the list of sanctioned persons in Georgia. It added 17 more politicians and officials who suppressed protests in the country, according to Lithuania's Foreign Ministry.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys clarified that it was a ban on entry into the country.
“We have added 17 more people to the list, including Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze. We will not tolerate violence and harassment against peaceful protesters, journalists, and the opposition. It is time to take joint actions at the EU level,” he said.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Georgian Prime Minister Kobakhidze and other officials, politicians, and business representatives on the sanctions list directly contributed to gross and systematic human rights violations and restrictions on fundamental freedoms in Sakartvelo (Georgian state).
“Ukraine has already included them in its national sanctions lists, and as of today, Estonia has also done so,” the website says.
The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry also reminded that ten Georgian Interior Ministry officials and Bidzina Ivanishvili had been banned from entering the country earlier.
At the end of October, Georgia held parliamentary elections in which the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party won, although opposition parties were expected to succeed, according to forecasts. From that moment on, protests began in the country demanding new elections. But they never happened.
Yesterday, the electoral college elected a new president of Georgia. It was former football player Mikhail Kavelashvili, and he was the only candidate nominated by the ruling Georgian Dream party.
On the same day, December 14, the four largest opposition parties in Georgia jointly appealed to the European Union. They called for the “regime” of the founder of the Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, to be declared illegitimate.
