Government party announces withdrawal of "foreign agents" bill in Georgia
Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party said on Thursday it was withdrawing its controversial "foreign agents" bill after two nights of violent protests amid criticism that the bill is Russian-inspired and represents a redirection of the country towards authoritarianism, reports Reuters, quoted by Agerpres.
According to the bill, Georgian organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad were obliged to register as "agents of foreigners" or risk fines.
Adversaries claimed the bill copied a law passed in Russia in 2012 that the Kremlin has been using ever since to crack down on media and critical voices.
The first-reading adoption of the "foreign agents" bill prompted thousands of people to demonstrate in Tbilisi on Tuesday evening, protests dispersed with tear gas and water cannons. This was repeated on Wednesday evening when Georgian police dispersed tens of thousands of people demonstrating in Tbilisi against the bill with tear gas and water cannons.
On Wednesday, the Georgian Interior Ministry announced that at least 77 people had been arrested and 50 policemen injured the day before.
