The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned on December 19 the Minster of Interior Vakhtang Gomelauri and a Deputy Head of the Special Tasks Department, Mirza Kezevadze for brutal crackdowns on media members, opposition figures, and protesters, including during demonstrations throughout 2024.

The two MIA officials are being sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act, following the September 16, 2024 sanctions of two other Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs officials. The previously sanctioned individuals were the Head of the same Special Task Department of the MIA, Zviad Kharazishvili (Kharazishvili), and his Deputy, Mileri Lagazauri (Lagazauri).

The US Department of Treasury said in its press release that this action was coordinated with the United Kingdom, which earlier today designated five individuals responsible for human rights violations in Georgia.

The official press release of the Treasury Office said that “security forces from the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Special Task Department responded to protests with disproportionate violence to suppress dissent and discourage protesters.” It noted that the Department “utilized tactics including mass beatings, verbal abuse, and threats of sexual violence” noting that the 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 press release also notes that the Department also “deliberately targeted journalists as they reported on the violence and repeatedly abused detained protesters.”

The Sanctions’ Implications

As a result of the sanctions, “all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.”

In addition, as the press release explains “any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.”

Moreover, the OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons.

The releases notes that “financial institutions and other persons that engage in certain transactions or activities with the sanctioned individuals may expose themselves to sanctions or be subject to an enforcement action.”

After the U.S. Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on two senior Georgian officials, namely Vakhtang Gomelauri, the Minister of Internal Affairs, and Mirza Kezevadze, Deputy Head of the Special Task Department, under the Global Magnitsky Act, the U.S. State Department said it is “also taking further steps to impose visa restrictions on additional Georgian individuals and their family members, including law enforcement and security officials who were involved in the violence against protesters, and municipal government officials who abused their power to restrict fundamental freedoms, including the right to vote without coercion or intimidation.”

The press statement by the State Department notes that this action “builds on visa actions announced last week, expands U.S. sanctions imposed on Georgian officials in September, and complements actions taken by the UK today and actions taken in recent days by several other European countries.” The individuals – subject to these restrictions have not been named by the State Department.

“The United States strongly condemns the ongoing, brutal, and unjustified violence against Georgian citizens,” the statement says. “We stand with the people of Georgia and remain committed to promoting accountability for those complicit in human rights abuses and undermining their democratic future.”