Georgia listed in US State Department's Terrorism Report for 2020
The US Department of State issued its annual Country Reports on Terrorism which provides Congress with evaluations of the worldwide counterterrorism picture for 2020.
Georgia "maintained its vigorous participation across a number of terrorist concerns" in 2020, according to the report.
"Georgia is typically capable of detecting, deterring, and responding to terrorism occurrences," the paper stated, adding that the State Security Service of Georgia, which oversees terrorism-related incidents and investigations, is "generally well equipped and highly trained."
Despite participating in "a limited number of bilateral CT-related exercises and trainings" with the US in 2020, Georgia "remained a key US security partner," according to the report.
It stated that "through infrastructure projects and legislation, Georgia sought to bolster its border, maritime, and aviation security last year," and that the Border Police and Coast Guard are "fully structured and highly competent."
According to the document, the US Department of State's Diplomatic Security Office of Criminal Investigations provided basic counterterrorism techniques training to about 350 Georgian border and patrol police.
The study also said that there had been no terrorist attacks in Georgia in the previous year. However, Georgian national Tsezar Tokhosashvili was prosecuted and convicted on terrorist charges for his involvement in ISIS-related operations overseas, according to the statement. He was extradited from Ukraine to Georgia and sentenced to ten years in jail.
Georgia refined its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing laws in 2020, according to the US Department of State document, including designating the National Bank of Georgia as the process' supervisor and "mandating that Georgian financial institutions screen against United Nations Security Council sanctions lists."