Tbilisi, Georgia: Georgian parliamentarians approved a “foreign influence” bill on Tuesday that sparked weeks of mass protests, with critics calling it a Russian-style threat to freedom of expression and the country’s aspirations to join the European Union.
The opposition has denounced the bill as “Russian law” because Moscow uses similar legislation to repress independent media, nonprofit organizations and activists critical of the Kremlin.
A woman holds Georgian and EU flags in front of riot police blocking a street to prevent protesters during an opposition protest against “the Russian law” near the Parliament building in central Tbilisi, Georgia .Credit: AP
The bill requires media outlets, non-governmental organizations and other nonprofit groups to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.
The government says the bill is needed to curb what it sees as harmful foreign actors trying to destabilize politics in the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million people.