Latvia Sanctions Another 13 Georgian Citizens
Latvia has imposed additional travel restrictions on 13 Georgian citizens on December 20, announcing them personae non gratae in the country. It is not yet publicly known, who they are.
The Foreign Minister of Latvia Baiba Braže stated: “I’ve included 13 Georgian citizens on Latvia’s persona non grata list, imposing a ban on their entry into Latvia. This decision was made under Section 61(2) of the Immigration Law.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia said that “the ban on entering Latvia is imposed on the said persons for an indefinite period of time.”
Latvia, together with two other Baltic States -Estonia and Lithuania, had earlier applied restrictive measures on the patron of the Georgian Dream (GD) party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, and several senior officials of the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). They have been denied entry to these countries. The decision was announced on December 2, 2024 by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze and Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.
Other Baltic states have also imposed national sanctions on Georgian officials with Lithuania sanctioning 17 Georgian politicians, including Irakli Kobakhidze, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, members of the judicial clan and political ideologues of the GD govenmein response to violent crackdowns on peaceful protesters, on December 15.
Estonia, on December 16 announced additional sanctions against 14 Georgian officials and judges, including Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, in response to the brutal and repressive regime targeting peaceful citizens. The decision comes ahead of the EU Foreign Affairs Council slated for December 16, which is scheduled to consider the Union-wide sanctions against the Georgian Dream officials.
Other countries have either already imposed or are in the process of imposing sanctions on the GD officials and Georgian individuals undermining democracy and human rights in Georgia.
Also Read:
- 20/12/2024 – U.S. State Department Statement on Sanctioning Georgian MIA Officials for Serious Human Rights Abuses against Protesters
- 19/12/2024 – U.S. Department of Treasury Sanctions Georgian MIA Officials for Brutality Against Protesters, Journalists, and Politicians
- 19/12/2024 – UK Sanctions Senior Georgian Authorities, Including Minister of Interior
- 05/1/2024 – Ukraine Sanctions Ivanishvili and His Associates
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