Lithuania has added 74 more Georgian officials to its national blacklist, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
Seven judges from Georgia’s Constitutional Court, along with a long list of judges, prosecutors, and police officers from the South Caucasus country, have been sanctioned for “serious and systemic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as repression against the people of Georgia”.
The sanctions target, among others, officials who gave false testimony against Mzia Amaglobeli and played a role in the journalist’s unlawful detention, according to the ministry.
Amaglobeli staged a 38-day hunger strike in protest against mistreatment by officials, which, according to the ministry, put her life at serious risk.
Protests erupted in Georgia last October after the ruling Georgian Dream party won parliamentary elections. The opposition dismissed the results as rigged.
Activists say the government responded with a crackdown, using intimidation, violence, and arrests to target those who took to the streets.
Georgian Dream has also put the country’s EU accession talks on hold, leading opposition groups to accuse it of eroding democracy and steering Georgia closer to Russia’s sphere of influence.
“Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia express strong support for the people of Georgia who have been protesting for more than 100 days against the systematic actions of the ruling Georgian Dream party, which grossly violate the country’s constitution, civil and political rights, and international commitments,” the Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
Lithuania blacklisted Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze last December, after previously sanctioning Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of Georgian Dream.
The Foreign Ministry told BNS that a total of 102 Georgians are now subject to Lithuanian sanctions.
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