Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Georgia: Democracy

Tuesday 2 September 2025 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Blair McDougall congratulated the Minister on his marriage and raised concerns about deteriorating democracy in Georgia, including jailed opposition leaders.
  • Stephen Gethins congratulated the Minister and noted the importance of UK-based NGOs in supporting civil society in Georgia amid challenging times.
  • Sir Alec Shelbrooke called for a more robust UK response to the crackdown on freedom and political opposition in Georgia and asked for increased efforts in addressing media freedom issues.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Blair McDougall Lab East Renfrewshire
Foreign Affairs
Context

The situation in Georgia has worsened over the summer with opposition leaders jailed, democracy activists given life-changing sentences, and civil society organisations threatened. The questioner mentions that Georgian regime's money is laundered through business associates in London.

Question

May I join you, Mr Speaker, in congratulating the Minister on his nuptials? I thank him for the lead he has taken on Georgia. He will know, because he has recently been in Georgia, that over the summer the situation has dramatically worsened: opposition leaders have been jailed, young democracy activists have been given life-changing prison sentences, and the civil society organisations that are trying to protect democracy have been threatened with prosecution. The complaint of the democracy activists I used to work with is that all of this brutality is happening while the regime’s money is washed through business associates in London. Will the Minister target the people who are responsible for this brutality and hold them accountable?

Answer from Stephen Doughty (Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

My hon. Friend raises important and serious issues. He knows that the Foreign Secretary and I prioritise tackling illicit finance more broadly. I will not comment on future potential measures, but he will know that we have imposed a number of sanctions on Georgian Dream Ministers, on police chiefs and on Georgian judges under the global anti-corruption sanctions regime. Indeed, in April we also sanctioned the general prosecutor, the head of the special investigatory service and other officials.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister did not directly state if they will target those responsible for repression but mentioned past actions on sanctions.

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Q2 Stephen Gethins SNP Arbroath and Broughty Ferry
Foreign Affairs
Context

With the UK's international development budget being cut, the questioner is concerned about undermining civil society work in Georgia.

Question

I join others in congratulating the Minister on his nuptials—that is happy news for everybody. The Minister will be aware of the fantastic work that UK-based non-governmental organisations have done about civil society stability, which is crucial in these darker times. With the cuts to the international development budget, will the Minister assure me that work in that space in Georgia and elsewhere will not be undermined as a result of those cuts?

Answer from Stephen Doughty (Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I set out the position on the changes to our aid budget earlier. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we recognise the important work that civil society does in Georgia, and indeed more broadly, in ensuring a free society. He will appreciate that the situation there is very difficult. We have suspended all our programme support for the Georgian Government, restricted our defence co-operation, limited our engagement with Georgian Dream representatives and frozen the annual strategic dialogue in response to the very disturbing direction of travel that we have seen in Georgia.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister provided context about restrictions on aid but did not specifically address if civil society work will be undermined by budget cuts.

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Q3 Alec Shelbrooke Con Wetherby and Easingwold
Foreign Affairs
Context

The right hon. Gentleman suggests a step change in the UK’s response to the crackdown on freedom and political opposition in Georgia, mentioning potential asset bans and information space actors.

Question

It is indeed time for a step change in the UK’s response to the sinister crackdown on freedom and political opposition in Georgia. It is welcome that the Minister is assessing asset bans and freezes on those responsible for this wholly unacceptable situation. May I ask that he steps up efforts for the Georgian civil society counter-destabilisation hybrid activities, especially in the information space and the actors that might be involved in that? What discussions has he had with the US Administration in the light of the MEGOBARI Bill going through Congress?

Answer from Stephen Doughty (Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We engage regularly with international counterparts on Georgia and on wider stability in the south Caucasus. The right hon. Gentleman mentioned the importance of media freedom. He will know that we condemned the disproportionate and politically motivated sentencing of Mzia Amaglobeli in August; she has been sentenced to two years in prison, and we call for her immediate release. I also discussed the wider situation with Georgia’s fifth president, President Zourabichvili, on her recent visit to the UK, and I expressed my support for her work supporting democracy in Georgia.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister did not explicitly confirm stepping up efforts but mentioned discussions on media freedom and support for democracy activists.

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