Tbilisi Mayor says UK sanctions are form of blackmail against Georgian Gov’t

Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze has condemned the recent sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom on four high-ranking Georgian officials, including Georgia’s Prosecutor General, calling them an extension of “blackmail and threats” against the Georgian government.

“The sanctions clearly indicate that blackmail continues. We are simply defending our country and our people. We will not allow anyone to dominate Georgia or use our national interests for the benefit of larger powers. That’s why some are irritated,” Kaladze said in a statement. He emphasized that as long as the ruling Georgian Dream party remains in power, Georgia’s independence and sovereignty will be protected.

His remarks come after the UK imposed financial sanctions on Karlo Katsitadze, head of Georgia’s Special Investigation Service, under its Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations. The sanctions include a freeze on Katsitadze’s financial and economic assets in response to what the UK government described as serious human rights violations.

In addition to Katsitadze, the UK sanctioned Shalva Bedoidze, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Giorgi Gabitashvili, the Prosecutor General, and Mirza Kezevadze, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Special Assignments Department.