Police forces attend a protest against the Foreign Agents Law as two Americans and a Russian citizen are among 20 detained on May 13, 2024 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Daro Sulakauri | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Thousands of people took to the streets of the Georgian capital on Monday in a last-ditch attempt to stop the country’s government from passing a controversial law.Kremlin style“foreign influence law.
In further scenes of violence linked to the proposed bill, hundreds of masked police clashed with demonstrators outside Georgia’s Parliament in Tbilisi as some demonstrators sought to block lawmakers’ access to the building.
Georgia’s Interior Ministry said Monday that two U.S. citizens and a Russian national were among 20 people arrested at the rally.
Separately, Georgia’s Special Investigative Service said it had opened an investigation into the alleged use of “excessive force” by law enforcement against protesters. Security guards have since withdrawn from the main square.
Foreign influence bill calls on media outlets, nonprofits and other non-governmental organizations to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.
Russia, which occupies about 20% of Georgia’s internationally recognized territory, has used similar legislation to crack down on independent media and activists critical of the Kremlin.
One person is arrested as two Americans and a Russian citizen are among 20 people arrested during a protest against the Foreign Agents Law on May 13, 2024 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Daro Sulakauri | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The country’s opposition MPs denounced the bill, which critics say could damage Georgia’s chances of joining the European Union.
Jake Sullivan, White House national security adviser said Over the weekend, the United States was “deeply alarmed” by democratic backsliding in Georgia.
“Parliamentarians face a crucial choice: support the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the Georgian people or pass a Kremlin-style foreign agents law that goes against democratic values,” Sullivan said Saturday via a message on the X social media platform.
Demonstrators protest against the controversial “foreign influence” bill near the parliament in Tbilisi on May 13, 2024. Several thousand Georgians gathered in front of the parliament in Tbilisi on May 12, for a new protest against a proposed Russian-style “foreign agent” law, despite government officials. warning of arrests.
Giorgi Ardjevanidze | Afp | Getty Images
Georgia’s ruling government has insisted it will move forward with the bill despite some of the biggest protests the country has seen since declaring independence from the Soviet Union more than 30 years ago.
On Monday, protesters, some of whom had been demonstrating since Sunday evening, were seen clashing with riot police over the bill.
Some demonstrators waved Georgian and European Union flags, while others held signs that read “Hands off my future.”
The final vote on the bill is scheduled for Tuesday.
A demonstrator with a sign protests against the “Foreign Agents Bill” in front of the Georgian Parliament building on May 12, 2024 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Nicolo Vincenzo Malvestuto | Getty Images News | Getty Images
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