Violent clashes break out in Georgia amid controversial ‘foreign agents’ law debate

By Radina Gigova and Niamh Kennedy, CNN

(CNN) — Violent clashes erupted between protesters and police in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, on Tuesday as the country’s parliament continued debating a controversial “foreign agents” bill, criticized by Western and domestic opponents as authoritarian and Russian-inspired.

The bill, dubbed “the Russian law” by critics due to parallels with legislation used by the Kremlin to crack down on dissent, has been reintroduced for debate by the ruling Georgian Dream party, after it was dropped last year amid a wave of protests.

The legislation, which would require organizations that accept funds from abroad to register as foreign agents or face fines, has been criticized by Western countries, including the US and Britain, and seen by rights groups as an attempt to curtail basic freedoms in the country.

“Second night of massive protest in Tbilisi against the Russian Law,” Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili said in a post on social media on Tuesday.

“Insistence of the authorities to push through this law against the will of the population and despite partners protest is a direct provocation – a Russian strategy of destabilization,” said Zourabichvili, who has vowed to repeal the law if it crosses her desk.

The Georgian Dream party, which has been pushing for the law, has the parliamentary majority which could override a presidential veto.

Videos shared on activist Telegram channels and news agencies showed riot police trying to clear demonstrators from the area around the parliament. In the videos, police could be seen grabbing protesters by the clothes and firing what appeared to be water cannons.

At least one employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was injured during Tuesday’s clashes, the ministry said in a statement.

If protesters “continue their illegal actions,” the Ministry of Internal Affairs will “administer special measures defined by law,” it warned. “Each illegal action will be followed by appropriate legal response from the police,” it added.

Dramatic scenes unfolded inside the ex-Soviet country’s parliament a day earlier, as Georgian television showed the leader of the Georgian Dream party, Mamuka Mdinaradze, being punched in the face by opposition lawmaker Aleko Elisashvili. A wider brawl between several lawmakers followed.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have denounced the “foreign agents” law, saying if adopted, it would also “impose additional onerous reporting requirements, inspections, and administrative and criminal liability, including up to five years in prison for violations.”

The legislation is “incompatible with international human rights law and standards that protect the rights to freedom of expression and association,” Human Rights Watch warned.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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