US State Department

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Bidzina Ivanishvili. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

Democracy

Ivanishvili ‘sends personal envoy’ to Washington amidst growing reports of sanctions against Georgian officials

by OC Media

•3 min read

The founder and honorary chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, has reportedly sent an ‘envoy’ to Washington amidst increasing reports of Georgian officials being hit with sanctions. On Sunday, former Georgian Dream prime minister and current head of the opposition For Georgia party, Giorgi Gakharia, claimed that Ivanishvili had sent a high-level official as a ‘personal envoy’ to Washington. ‘Bidzina Ivanishvili has sent one of the representatives of the Georgian g

Left to right: Mamuka Mdinaradze, Anri Okhanashvili, Dimitri Samkharadze, and Zviad Kharazishvili.

Democracy

US travel sanctions reportedly hit Georgian officials

by OC Media

•2 min read

Georgian media has reported that three Georgian Dream MPs and the head of Georgia’s Special Tasks Department were hit by US travel sanctions over their support of the foreign agent law and the authorities’ crackdown on protesters. MPs believed to be sanctioned include Georgian Dream’s parliamentary leader, Mamuka Mdinaradze, the chair of the parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee, Anri Okhanashvili, and Dimitri Samkharadze. On Tuesday, TV Pirveli reported that Zviad Kharazishvili, or Khare

Protesters against the foreign agent law march along Tbilisi’s riverbank on 24 May. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

Democracy

Washington sanctions ‘dozens’ over Georgia’s foreign agent law

by OC Media

•4 min read

Washington has announced that it has sanctioned ‘dozens’ of Georgian citizens in relation to the foreign agent law, including politicians involved in its adoption, and their family members. US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller announced on Thursday that Washington was imposing individual visa bans on members of the ruling Georgian Dream party, MPs, law enforcement officials, private citizens, and their immediate family members. ‘The United States remains deeply concerned with t

Leading members of the ruling Georgian Dream party alongside party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, at a pro-government rally on 29 April. Photo: Tata Shoshiashvili/OC Media.

Democracy

Reports emerge of US visa revocations over Georgia foreign agent law

by OC Media

•3 min read

Two Georgian opposition MPs have claimed that the US has already begun cancelling the visas of members of the ruling Georgian Dream party who voted in favour of the foreign agent law and their families. Speaking to journalists on Monday, Eurooptimists MP Khatia Dekanoidze said that family members of ‘particular’ Georgian Dream MPs ‘have already received messages’ about the cancellation of their US visas. ‘There will be sanctions very soon’, she added, that would target ‘all those people w

US State Deparment spokesperson Matthew Miller. Photo: state.gov.

Freedom of the Press

US State Department says to ‘stay tuned’ for possible Georgia sanctions

by Tata Shoshiashvili

•3 min read

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller has told reporters to ‘stay tuned’ regarding possible sanctions on Georgian officials responsible for reintroducing the foreign agent bill. Answering journalists’ questions on Monday, Miller stated that adopting the foreign agent law ‘would derail Georgia from its European path’. ‘We are concerned that the legislation would impede independent media organisations working to provide access for Georgian citizens to high-quality information’, he sa

Armenia

Blinken ‘warns’ US lawmakers of possible Azerbaijani attack on Armenia

by Ismi Aghayev

•2 min read

Politico has reported that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told US lawmakers that Azerbaijan might invade southern Armenia ‘in the coming weeks’. Washington has described the claims as ‘inaccurate’. On Friday, Politico cited two sources as saying that Blinken had warned ‘a small group’ of US lawmakers of a potential Azerbaijani invasion. The lawmakers reportedly called Blinken on 3 October in an attempt to urge Washington to take ‘possible measures’ against Azerbaijani President Ilham A

Bakhtiyar Hajiyev standing next graffiti calling for his release after he was arrested in 2012 for evading military service. Image via Facebook.

Azerbaijan

Washington calls for the release of imprisoned Azerbaijani activist Hajiyev

by Ismi Aghayev

•1 min read

The US Department of State has called for the release of the imprisoned human rights activist Bakhtiyav Hajiyev, who is over a month into a hunger strike. ‘We are deeply troubled that Azerbaijani activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev has remained in detention since the eve of International Human Rights Day last December and that he continues to face charges widely understood as politically motivated,’ read a statement issued Saturday by the department’s spokesperson Ned Price. Price cited Hajiyev’s med