Politics

US to deny 20 Georgian officials visas for brutal crackdown on protesters

Photo by Jerome Gilles/NurPhoto via Getty Images
"The United States strongly condemns... brutal and unjustified violence against Georgian citizens," the State Department said on Thursday. Photo by Jerome Gilles/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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The U.S. has said it will deny visas to about 20 people responsible for Georgia’s "brutal” crackdown on protesters, including government ministers, parliament members and security officials.

Hundreds of people have been arrested in Georgia since nightly protests broke out almost two weeks ago against a decision by the ruling Georgian Dream party to delay the former Soviet republic's longstanding goal of joining the European Union.

“The United States strongly condemns the Georgian Dream party's ongoing, brutal and unjustified violence against Georgian citizens, including protesters, members of the media, human rights activists and opposition figures,” the State Department said on Thursday.

The statement did not name the people who would be prohibited from receiving U.S. visas.

It added the department was “preparing additional actions, including sanctions, to hold to account those who undermine democracy in Georgia.”
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