Poland bans eight Georgian officials over crackdown on protesters

Poland has banned eight Georgian officials from entering the country due to their alleged role in violence against anti-government protesters in the South Caucasus nation, the Polish Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

Protests erupted in Georgia in November, when the ruling Georgian Dream party said it was suspending European Union accession talks until 2028. Opponents accuse it of pursuing authoritarian, anti-Western and pro-Russian policies.

"In response to the increasing repressions of the opposition in Georgia, Poland has banned eight representatives of enforcement authorities responsible for the violence against protesters, from entering its territory," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on the X social media platform.

"Poland supports the pro-European aspirations of Georgian society," it added, without providing further details about the people targeted by the ban.

The Georgian Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier in April, Britain sanctioned four Georgian officials, including the country's first deputy minister of internal affairs, Shalva Bedoidze, accusing them of allowing serious human rights violations.