Parliament official says UK sanctions pressure on Georgian institutions’ sovereignty

Irakli Kadagishvili, the Chair of the Regional Policy and Self-Government Committee of the Georgian Parliament, on Friday denounced the recent sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom, labeling them an act of pressure on the sovereignty of Georgia’s institutions.

The UK Government on Thursday announced sanctions against Georgia's Prosecutor General Giorgi Gabitashvili, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Shalva Bedoidze, Deputy Director of the Special Tasks Department Mirza Kezevadze, and Head of the Special Investigation Service Karlo Katsitadze. The grounds for the sanctions state that these individuals “are or have been responsible” for human rights violations.

In his remarks, Kadagishvili noted that no factual evidence or justification was provided to support the move.

“This is a political vendetta, a response to the fact that the Georgian people did not accept their proposed project”, the Parliament official said.

“Sanctions are not imposed like that, especially against the Prosecutor General. When an investigation is ongoing and you impose sanctions on the head of the investigative body, what is that if not pressure on the country's sovereignty? Alongside protecting human rights, we must also defend the sovereignty of the country and its institutions”, Kadagishvili continued.

He further recalled the British Ambassador’s anti-governmental statements regarding the parliamentary elections held in Georgia, claiming the reason for this action was that the Government that defends sovereignty was not comfortable to them.