About 10.000 people gathered in Tbilisi tonight for a rally against the controversial "foreign agents" law, which sparked large-scale demonstrations last year as well, when critics described it as a "murder of freedom."
The ruling party "Georgian Dream" announced at the beginning of April the return to the procedure of that controversial law, the first version of which was abandoned after large protests in March 2023. At the time, citizens and critics of the government assessed that the law was inspired by a similar law in Russia, directed against critics of the government.
"No to the Russian law," chanted those gathered in front of the parliament, waving the national flag and the flag of the European Union, which Georgia supposedly aspires to.
A large number of police officers were seen at the protest.
Critics believe that the text is inspired by a Russian law that the Kremlin has used for years to persecute critics, opposition and dissidents.
For years, Georgia has had the ambition to deepen its relations with the West, but the ruling party is accused of wanting, on the contrary, to bring the former Soviet republic closer to Russia.
"Georgia will not surrender to re-Sovietization!", wrote on the platform X (X) the president of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, a great supporter of rapprochement with the EU, which has limited powers.
The police arrested four protesters, AFP reported from the scene.
The debate on that law began in the parliament today, but there was a general fight and the session was interrupted.
Last Sunday, around 8.000 people demonstrated against the law in Tbilisi.
The text would force organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register under the infamous "organization that pursues the interests of a foreign power."
That designation was even softened, as the first version read "agent with influence from abroad."
The government is defending a draft law that will require organizations to show more "transparency" about funding. Critics see the text as a tool to intimidate non-governmental organizations and independent media.
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