Estonia imposes entry ban on 11 Georgian officials

Georgian oligarch and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili. Photo: GIORGI ARJEVANIDZE / AFP / Scanpix

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna announced on Monday the imposition of sanctions, including an entry ban to Estonia, on 11 Georgian officials, among them Georgia's Minister of Internal Affairs Vakhtang Gomelauri and Bidzina Ivanishvili, the honorary chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Tsahkna said that the entry bans were imposed on these individuals due to their involvement in severe human rights violations, including the violent suppression of legitimate protests in Georgia.

«The people of Georgia have the right to stand up for their rights, especially as their ruling party has engaged in long-term and systematic deception. People have the right to express their views through protests. The violence directed at protesters is disproportionate and a violation of human rights,» Tsahkna said.

Among those sanctioned is Bidzina Ivanishvili, considered the real policymaker behind the Georgian government and thus responsible for the repression of pro-Western individuals in the country. The Georgian minister of internal affairs, Vakhtang Gomelauri, was also included in the sanctions.

The other sanctioned Georgian officials are Georgian deputy ministers of internal affairs Shalva Bedoidze, Giorgi Butkhuzi, Ioseb Chelidze, and Aleksandre Darakhvelidze; Mirza Kezevadze, deputy director of the special tasks department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; Zviad Kharazishvili, director of the special tasks department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; Teimuraz Kupatadze, head of the central criminal police department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; Mileri Lagazauri, deputy director of the special tasks department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; Vaja Siradze, director of the patrol police department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Latvia and Lithuania have also imposed similar entry bans.