Georgia: About 50.000 people demonstrated against the law on "foreign agents"

In Georgia, around 50.000 people protested yesterday in the streets of the capital Tbilisi against a bill on "foreign agents" that critics say is inspired by the one in Russia and would be used to crack down on political opponents.

As reported by France Presse, the demonstrators carried the flags of Georgia and the European Union.

The rally came a day after Prime Minister Irakli Kobahidze said the government would continue work on the law despite opposition from what he called "misguided" youth, who express strongly anti-Russian views.

Georgia's parliament approved a second reading on Wednesday of a bill on "foreign agents", a proposed measure that has sparked weeks of protests in the country, local television reported last night.

The ruling party "Georgian Dream" announced at the beginning of April that it will re-introduce the controversial law, the first version of which was abandoned after large protests in March 2023. At that time, citizens and critics of the authorities assessed that the new law represents "murder of freedom".

Georgia, a former Soviet republic in the Caucasus, made a pro-Western turn two decades ago, and it was headed by Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been in prison since 2021.

The country has had ambitions for years to deepen its relations with the West, but the opposition now accuses the ruling party of wanting to bring the former Soviet republic closer to Russia.