International

Lawmakers brawl as Georgian parliament considers 'foreign agent' bill

Georgian lawmakers came to blows in parliament on Monday as ruling party legislators looked set to advance a controversial bill on "foreign agents" that has been criticised by Western countries and sparked protests at home, Reuters reports.

Critics say the legislation mirrors repressive Russian laws used by Vladimir Putin and his Kremlin regime to silence and intimidate dissidents.

The ruling Georgian Dream party announced the proposal earlier this month, reviving a similar bill that was dropped a year ago after mass protests.

Video from a parliamentary hearing showed an opposition MP punching a speaking ruling party lawmaker who co-sponsored the bill in the head, prompting a mass brawl to break out on the floor and for the live feed to be cut.

Video of the incident shows MP Aleko Elisashvili charge in from Mamuka Mdinaradze's left, swinging his fist and making contact with his face. Another politician sitting behind the speaker is seen watching on open mouthed., AFP reports.

As Elisashvili and Mdinaradze fall off the podium together, a mass of bodies surround them and work to subdue the attacking MP.

Further footage showed other suit-wearing politicians in the brawl swinging punches as others desperately tried to calm the situation.

In angry comments made outside the building in the aftermath of the incident, Elisashvili told reporters: 'I got beaten, but if it's for Georgia, then so be it!

'We must shove this law up their a**es,' he said, clenching his fist to a cheering crowd. 'There is no time for politeness. They are dragging us into Russia directly.

'We are either Georgians, or slaves - and we are not slaves,' he added.

The scuffle came as dozens of Georgians rallied outside parliament against the proposed law, which they argue undermines Georgia's bid for EU membership.

Ahead of a rally planned for Monday evening, protesters could be seen unfurling a large European Union flag and shouting: 'No to the Russian law!'

'Georgia's society is strong enough not to allow the country to slide into Russian-styled authoritarianism,' Saba Gotua, an architect, said.

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