Over the weekend, up to 50,000 people gathered nightly in central Tbilisi to demonstrate against the law, which they say could bring Georgia closer to Russia, reports Reuters. Overnight into Monday, thousands of people continued to remain outside parliament before police began making random arrests of protesters.
The legal committee of the Georgian parliament approved the “third reading” of the bill on Monday, without anyone from the political opposition present.
The final vote trumps the presidential veto
On Tuesday, the law is expected to come up in a final vote in parliament and then be adopted. Subsequently, the president, Salome Zourabishvili, has promised to veto it, but since the Georgian Dream party holds a majority in parliament, the law will be able to be voted through in any case.
– It’s not even dystopian anymore when they adopt a team of about 60 to 70 seconds. It makes me angry and we will continue to protest, says 18-year-old law student Luka Margvelashvili.
The opposition and several Western countries have also condemned the proposal, comparing it to similar laws in Russia, which have been used to silence critics of the Kremlin.