The State Department said on Tuesday it was 'concerned' over the enforcement of Georgia's recently passed controversial "foreign agent" law for "those entities that did not voluntarily register, including civic organizations and independent media," as spokesperson Matthew Miller put it, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.
The move came as the Georgian government is poised to take actions — either forcibly register, or impose fines — against organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad, as the deadline for registration under the copycat piece of legislation imported from Moscow, expired on September 2.
In the one-month window provided by the law for voluntary registration, 476 organizations applied to the Ministry of Justice with a registration request, as announced by the country's Justice Ministry.
"The Georgia Government continues to move in a deeply, deeply troubling direction, one that moves the country further away from its Euro-Atlantic trajectory, which the Georgian people, we know, overwhelmingly desire," Miller told a daily briefing.
As part of our comprehensive review of bilateral cooperation between the U.S. States and Georgia that the Secretary Antony Blinken announced early this summer, Washington has implemented visa restrictions on dozens of Georgian individuals and their family members, including members of the Georgian Dream Party, members of parliament, law enforcement, and private citizens, and the State Department has paused $95 million in assistance that directly benefited the Government of Georgia, Miller recalled.
"That review remains ongoing. I would not rule out further actions," the spokesperson concluded.
Local analysts believe that requiring NGOs that receive funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents" is a part of the Georgian Dream party's efforts to eliminate dissenting voices ahead of national elections scheduled for October 26, potentially bringing the country closer to Russia.
Politics
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Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who arrived in Baku today, held a press conference at the COP29 climate conference. When asked about the arrested climate activists and opposition figures in Azerbaijan, she stated that Germany advocates for the release of government critics and that she would raise this issue during her meeting with Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister. She specifically mentioned the name of Professor Gubad Ibadoglu, a doctor from Dresden University.
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On November 21, climate activists held a series of protests at the COP29 climate conference in Baku. The main themes of the protests included nuclear weapons testing, animal killings, protection of rivers and water bodies, and environmental pollution.
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The General Assembly of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) adopted a resolution on Friday reaffirming its commitment to democratic reforms, regional stability, and European integration amidst escalating geopolitical tensions driven by Russia's ongoing aggression in Ukraine.
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Activist Nijat Ibrahim, who was detained in Baku pre-trial detention center-1, inflicted numerous wounds on himself on November 20 in protest against unjustified criminal prosecution, his wife Parvin Ibrahim told Turan. According to her, on November 21, her husband called her and informed her that the day before he had inflicted incised wounds on himself with a piece of mirror. In particular, he cut his throat and ears.
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