On April 10, the United Kingdom government sanctioned four Georgian officials responsible for serious human rights violations. The Foreign and Commonwealth and Development Office designated Shalva Bedoidze, Mirza Kezevadze, Karlo Katsitadze, and Giorgi Gabitashvili under the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulation 2020. The imposition of financial sanctions envisages the freezing of funds and economic resources of the designated persons.
“Our sanctions show the UK will not accept such a blatant lack of accountability by those in charge, and will continue to consider all options available to us until Georgia reverses its current trajectory,” commented U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy. “We stand with the people of Georgia and their constitutional right to fundamental freedoms and to pursue a European path.”
Shalva Bedoidze serves as the First Deputy GD Minister of Internal Affairs. “Shalva Bedoidze is and/or has been responsible for activity which amounts to a serious violation of the rights of individuals not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” the sanctions announcement says, adding that the MIA oversaw “the police force’s disproportionate use of violence against protestors” during protests that erupted after the GD halted the country’s EU accession on November 28, 2024.
Bedoidze was sanctioned by the Baltic states in December 2024.
Giorgi Gabitashvili serves as the Prosecutor General of Georgia. “Giorgi Gabitashvili is and/or has been responsible for the investigation or prosecution of activity which amounts to a serious violation of the right of individuals not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and intentionally or recklessly fails to fulfill that responsibility,” the sanctions note says. The document notes that he failed to investigate and prosecute the targeting of Georgian citizens, politicians, journalists, and youth activists by the MIA’s Special Task Department and Tbilisi police during protests since November.
Gabitashvili is already sanctioned by Estonia.
Karlo Katsitadze, the Head of the Special Investigative Service of Georgia, “is responsible for investigating and holding law enforcement officials accountable for police violence, and in this instance has failed to do so,” the sanctions announcement says, noting that the human rights violations he failed to address relate to protests that occurred after the passage of the Foreign Agents Law.
Katsitadze was also sanctioned by Estonia in December 2024.
Mirza Kezevadze, the Deputy Head of the Special Task Department of the Interior Ministry, “is and/or has been responsible for activity which amounts to a serious violation of the right of individuals not to be subject to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” the sanctions announcement says, specifying the human rights violations by the Special Task Department and Tbilisi police that occurred after the passage of the Foreign Agents Law. “In his role as Deputy Chief of the Special Task Department, this violence was overseen by Mirza Kezevadze,” the document adds.
Mirza Kezevadze was also sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in December 2024 for his brutal crackdown on media, opposition figures, and protesters during demonstrations throughout 2024. He also was sanctioned by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and Czechia.
Earlier this month, on April 2, the UK sanctioned two senior Georgian judges – Mikheil Chinchaladze and Levan Murusidze – for their involvement in serious corruption aimed at influencing judicial appointments and taking decisions in favor of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
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