In Tbilisi, there is a rally against the bill on “foreign agents”. Participants are detained by the police

A year ago, the Georgian authorities have already tried to adopt an analogue of the Russian law on “foreign agents”. Then this caused mass protests in the country, the most numerous was held in March 2023 in Tbilisi near the parliament building. The protesters encountered a strict confrontation from the security forces who sprayed tear gas over the demonstrators and turned on the waterlets. In total, 66 people were detained for protest.

Then the opposition and the President of Georgia spoke out against the law, at the same time the prevailing part of the deputies voted for the adoption of the law. Due to large-scale protests, the ruling party withdrew this bill, but then initiated it again.

The party stated that the text of the bill remains the same with the only difference - the term “agent of foreign influence” will be replaced by the term “the organization conducting the interests of foreign power”.

According to the critics of the bill, its adoption will hit the independent media and the civil sector, and will also become a serious obstacle to Georgia in the EU.