US sanctions key Georgia oligarch and ex-PM Bidzina Ivanishvili
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The US says Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, is undermining the country’s democratic future for Russia’s benefit.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON/TBILISI - The United States imposed sanctions on Dec 27 on Georgia’s former prime minister and key powerbroker Bidzina Ivanishvili, saying he is undermining the country’s democratic future for Russia’s benefit.
Mr Ivanishvili, founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, holds no official post but is widely believed to pull the strings of power.
The billionaire is honorary chairman of Georgian Dream, which is now facing mass protests
“We strongly condemn Georgian Dream’s actions under Ivanishvili’s leadership, including its ongoing and violent repression of Georgian citizens, protestors, members of the media, human rights activists, and opposition figures,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Mr Blinken added in a statement that Ivanishvili and Georgian Dream have “eroded democratic institutions, enabled human rights abuses, and curbed the exercise of fundamental freedoms in Georgia”.
He also said they “derailed Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future”, leaving it vulnerable to neighbouring Russia.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s announcement on Nov 28 that Tbilisi will not seek the opening of EU accession talks until 2028 triggered daily street protests, now entering their second month.
Riot police have used tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters, some of whom threw fireworks and stones.
The Interior Ministry reported more than 400 arrests, while the country’s top human rights official, ombudsman Levan Ioseliani and Amnesty International have accused security forces of “torturing” those detained.
The reported police brutality has attracted growing international condemnation.
Washington and several European countries have imposed visa bans on Georgian Dream officials.
Georgia has seen heightened tensions since 2022, amid Georgian Dream’s shift from an initially liberal, pro-Western stance to what critics denounced as an ultra-conservative and pro-Russian tilt.
In 2024, Georgian Dream adopted controversial Kremlin-styled laws targeting civil society and independent media, while curbing LGBTQ rights.
The moves sparked weeks of mass anti-government protests in the spring and led Brussels to freeze Georgia’s EU accession process. AFP
