US announces visa restrictions linked to Georgia’s foreign influence law – JURIST

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday announced visa restrictions on Georgian citizens involved in suppressing dissent over the nation’s “foreign influence” law that will require companies to media and foreign-supported non-governmental organizations to register as organizations acting in the interest of foreign interests. powers.

The DOJ criticized the Georgian government for using “repressive tactics” to suppress recent protests and argued that the law would infringe on the rights to free speech and association while harming the ability of Georgian citizens to access information.

The visa restriction policy “will apply to individuals responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia, as well as their family members… (including) individuals responsible for the repression of civil society and freedom of peaceful assembly in Georgia through a campaign of violence or intimidation.”

In April, the “foreign influence” bill was reintroduced after initially being submitted to the Georgian parliament last year before being withdrawn amid public outcry. The Georgian government passed the bill last week, and although Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili vetoed it, the veto is expected to be overridden by parliament as early as next week.

The bill requires media companies and non-governmental organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their revenue from foreign countries to register with the government and disclose information relevant to funding, or face significant fines. Failure to comply with the law could also lead the Georgian government to freeze the assets or suspend the activities of the organizations, in violation of the law.

The Georgian Dream Party, which supported the bill, argued that the law is necessary to protect Georgia’s political process from foreign interference. The party also argued that the bill is similar to foreign agent laws in the United States and the European Union. Opponents decried it as a “Russian-style” law that would harm free speech and rapprochement with the West, hurting any chance of NATO membership for the transcontinental country.

Georgia’s ruling party called the visa restrictions “blackmail” and a “crude attempt to restrict Georgia’s independence and sovereignty.” Meanwhile, protests in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi have sparked violent clashes between demonstrators and riot police in more than a month since the law was introduced.