The UK on Thursday sanctioned four Georgian officials, including the country's first deputy minister of internal affairs Shalva Bedoidze, accusing them of serious human rights violations.
Protests in Georgia have been ongoing since November, when the ruling Georgian Dream party said it was suspending European Union accession talks until 2028.
According to the British government, Bedoidze has engaged in actions that constitute a grave infringement of individuals' rights to be free from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
“Specifically, during the protests that occurred following the announcement of the suspension of EU accession talks, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia oversaw the police force's disproportionate use of violence against protestors,” it said.
The British government also sanctioned Mirza Kezevadze, deputy head of the special tasks department of the internal affairs ministry, general prosecutor Giorgi Gabitashvi and Karlo Katsitadze, head of the special investigatory service.
The British foreign office said all four were sanctioned under Britain's global human rights sanctions regime.
At the time of filing this report, the Georgian government has not commented on the development.
