Georgia’s parliament approves law on ‘foreign agents’ in first reading

Georgia’s parliament on Wednesday approved the first reading of a bill on “foreign agents” that has provoked several days of protests by critics who see it as authoritarian and Russian-inspired, Georgian media reported.

TBILISI — Georgia’s parliament on Wednesday approved the first reading of a bill on “foreign agents” that has provoked several days of protests by critics who see it as authoritarian and Russian-inspired, Georgian media reported.

Eighty-three out of 150 deputies voted in favour of the bill, while opposition MPs boycotted the vote. It must pass two more readings before becoming law.

The bill would require organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence, and has been compared by critics to a law that Russia has used extensively to crack down on dissent.

Its fate is widely seen as a test of whether Georgia, 33 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, intends to pursue a path of integration with the West or move back closer towards Russia.

On Tuesday, protesters clashed with riot police who used pepper spray to clear the area around parliament of thousands of demonstrators shouting slogans against what they call “the Russian law”.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/georgia-parliament-law-foreign-agents-russia-rcna148163

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