By Simon Lewis
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Thursday imposed visa restrictions on a few dozen people Georgian nationals it accused of undermining democracy, including members of the Georgian Dream party and members of parliament and law enforcement, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Georgia last month passed a “foreign agent” bill that has stirred street protests from opponents who decry it as authoritarian and Russian-inspired. The Georgian Dream party that controls parliament says the legislation is needed to ensure transparency in foreign funding of NGOs and protect the country’s sovereignty.
Washington, which has long criticized the law, launched a review into bilateral cooperation with Georgia and announced a new visa ban policy.
The first tranche of restrictions was imposed on Thursday on up to three dozen people, including members of Georgian Dream, members of parliament, law enforcement and private citizens, Miller said, declining to name any of those targeted.
“This includes individuals responsible for or complicit in… undermining democracy and Georgia, such as by undermining freedoms of peaceful assembly and association, violently attacking peaceful protesters, intimidating civil society representatives and deliberately spreading disinformation at the direction of the Georgian government,” he said.
He said the United States hopes Georgia’s leaders will reconsider their actions.
If not, he warned the U.S. is prepared to take additional actions.
(Reporting by Simon Lewis, Daphne Psaledakis and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
