US could sanction Georgia politicians to "defend democracy"

Officials responsible for pushing forward Georgia’s Russian-style “foreign agents” law could face asset freezes and travel bans under a new bill to be presented to the US Congress.

A draft of the bill, seen by POLITICO, warns the governing Georgian Dream party has “increasingly and regrettably embraced a policy of accommodation with the Russian Federation” as part of an “increasingly illiberal turn.” The bill adds that Tbilisi “has openly attacked US and other western democracy promotion organizations as well as local and international civil society while embracing increased ties with Russia in particular, as well as China.”

South Carolina Republican Representative Joe Wilson will introduce the bill as soon as Monday, according to a person close to the process. Its terms would oblige top American officials to brief Congress on “nodes of improper political influence, kleptocracy, and elite corruption in Georgia,” as well as on suspected Russian and Chinese intelligence assets operating in the South Caucasus country.

As part of an effort at “protecting and securing democracy,” the draft law would mandate sanctions against government officials and others who “have material responsibility for undermining or injuring democracy, human rights, or security in Georgia.” It would introduce visa bans for politicians and the families of politicians who are responsible for the passage of “the recent Russia-style foreign agent legislation” targeting NGOs and media outlets that receive more than 20 per cent of their funding from abroad.

The penalties would also target Georgian law enforcement and the security services, who have clamped down on protests against the foreign agent bill. Authorities have responded to tens of thousands of people taking to the streets to demonstrate by deploying tear gas and water cannons and beating and detaining activists and opposition politicians.

Tina Bokuchava, the leader of the largest opposition bloc in the Georgian parliament, the United National Movement, told POLITICO she hoped American lawmakers would support the US legislation. “Sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili are long overdue, but if the measures being drafted by the US are to have real teeth they must go beyond Ivanishvili and target the top tier of Georgian Dream’s leadership structure, including those who directed the violent crackdown on peaceful protesters in recent weeks,” she said.

Georgian Dream did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.