The Georgian parliament has voted through the controversial “foreign agent law”, local media reports.
The decision was taken in parliament during the afternoon after massive protests in the capital Tbilisi.
Before the vote, a big fight also broke out inside the parliament.
The protests in Georgia have followed each other since the government moved forward with the bill in April. Thousands took to the streets and were met by riot police, tear gas and water cannons. During yesterday, the protesters tried to block the parliament, so that the members could not enter and continue the work of preparing the bill.
On Tuesday, thousands of protesters gathered again and opposition MPs hung EU flags from the windows of the parliament building. Local media reports that riot police are on the scene with water cannons, preventing the protesters from reaching one of the parliament’s entrances.
The law, dubbed the “Russian law” by critics, was voted through in a third and final vote. The opposition president, Salome Zourabishvili, has previously said she will veto the law, which the ruling Georgian Dream party can override with its majority.
Seen as a rapprochement with Russia
The law has been strongly criticized as it is accused of stifling civil society. The law means that organizations that receive at least 20 percent of their funding from abroad must register as a “foreign agent”. Russia introduced a similar law in 2012 and critics point out that the law is a rapprochement with Russia.
Human Rights Watch believes that it is an attempt to control and limit independent media and civil society. The ruling Georgian Dream party tried to pass a similar bill last year, but was then forced to back down due to large protests.
Expanded Swedish support to civil society
Georgia was granted candidate status to the EU in December last year, even then Georgian Dream was in power. At the same time, the EU was clear that the country had several measures to take in the future.
Sweden’s Minister for Aid and Foreign Trade Johan Forssell (M) recently visited Georgia and presented new support to Georgian civil society.
– The heavily criticized bill on foreign influence risks hitting Georgia’s free and independent civil society. Civil society has a central role in Georgia’s EU rapprochement process and we are therefore strengthening our current support with an additional ten million kroner, said Minister for Aid and Foreign Trade Johan Forssell.