Risch, Cardin, Ricketts, Shaheen on Georgian Government’s Punishment of SFRC Witness

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), chair and ranking member of the Europe and Regional Security Cooperation Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement:

"We are concerned by Georgia's Anti-Corruption Bureau's decision to label Transparency International Georgia and Vote for Europe as organizations 'with a declared electoral goal.' These NGOs are active in preparing monitoring missions for the upcoming Georgian elections, but are not party to the electoral contest. They support democracy regardless of whom people vote for.

"It is unconscionable that Transparency International Georgia Director Eka Gigauri is being punished for her recent testimony in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's September 12 hearing on 'Anti-NGO Laws and Other Tools of Democratic Repression.' The announcement about her yesterday proves that autocratic governments are misusing laws to punish independent voices."

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