US Slaps Travel Bans on Georgian Officials for Undermining Democracy

Published on June 7, 2024

Washington has imposed visa restrictions on dozens of Georgian officials in response to the country’s adoption this week of a “foreign agents” law that critics say is undemocratic and inspired by Russia. “We are taking steps to impose visa restrictions on dozens of Georgian individuals,” U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on June 6. “This includes individuals responsible for or complicit … in undermining democracy in Georgia,” he told reporters. Earlier this week, Georgia, a small country in the South Caucasus region, adopted a “Transparency of Foreign Influence Law” aimed at curtailing perceived foreign influence. Pushed through by the ruling Georgian Dream party, the law requires organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as “organizations pursuing foreign interests.”...

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