New protests began in Georgia before the adoption of the law on foreign agents
Protests against the bill on foreign agents have started again at the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi. Students from various universities in Tbilisi will march from the universities to the legislative building.
The majority of deputies of the ruling Georgian Dream party plans to adopt the bill in the third reading today.
The international human rights organization Freedom House condemned the repression and violence against peaceful protesters in Tbilisi. “If this law is adopted, civil activities and independent media will be effectively prohibited in Georgia. This will bring it closer to repressive regimes, such as those in Russia and Kyrgyzstan,” the organization noted.
The US State Department stated that the initiative that the ruling party of Georgia is trying to approve does not correspond to the stated aspirations of the country's government. Moreover, “the law is consistent with repressive legislation that could be seen in other regimes, be it the Kremlin or any other,” emphasized Vedant Patel, deputy press secretary of the US State Department.
