The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning two Georgian officials from Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs which has engaged in brutal crackdowns on media members, opposition figures, and protesters - including during demonstrations throughout 2024. These officials are being sanctioned under Executive Order 13818 (Global Magnitsky), following the September 16, 2024 sanctions of two other Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs officials. This action was coordinated with the UK, which today designated five individuals responsible for human rights violations in Georgia.

“In the wake of Georgia’s election, key officials in the Ministry of Internal Affairs engaged in a severe and vicious crackdown against their own people, including the intentional targeting of journalists and use of violence,” said Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith. “The United States remains committed to holding accountable those who seek to limit the rights of their citizens and undermine fundamental freedoms — in Georgia and around the world.”

In late November 2024, mass protests erupted across the country in response to Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s announcement that Georgia would suspend talks on accession to the European Union. Security forces from the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Special Task Department responded to protests with disproportionate violence to suppress dissent and discourage protesters. The Special Task Department utilized tactics including mass beatings, verbal abuse, and threats of sexual violence. Police violence by members of the Special Task Department occurred while individuals were in police custody, in detention, and at locations outside the protest area. The Special Task Department also deliberately targeted journalists as they reported on the violence and repeatedly abused detained protesters.

During protests prior to the May 2024 passage of the “foreign influence law,” the Special Task Department also violently targeted political opposition leaders, journalists, and youth activists who were peacefully expressing their views. The Special Task Department perpetrated violence, including through brutal beatings of peaceful protesters. The violence perpetrated by the Special Task Department was overseen by Minister of Internal Affairs, Vakhtang Gomelauri (Gomelauri), and a Deputy Head of the Special Task Department, Mirza Kezevadze (Kezevadze), in addition to those designated by OFAC on September 16, 2024.

Gomelauri and Kezevadze are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13818 for being foreign persons who are or have been, leaders or officials of an entity, including any government entity, that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, serious human rights abuse related to the leader’s or official’s tenure”.