Georgia's ruling party reintroduces bill on "foreign agents"
Kyiv • UNN
Georgia's ruling party plans to return to a draft law requiring organizations that receive foreign funds to register as "foreign agents," despite protests and criticism from opponents and Western countries last year.
Georgia's ruling party plans to reintroduce a bill to the parliament that requires organizations that receive foreign funds to register as foreign agents. UNN reports with reference to Reuters.
Details
At a briefing, Mamuka Mdinaradze, head of the Georgian Dream parliamentary faction of the ruling bloc, said that Georgia's opposition misled the public about the bill last year and that an almost identical bill should be passed before parliament breaks for elections in October.
The bill would require Georgian organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents" or face fines. Critics compare it to a law that has been used in russia to suppress dissent for more than a decade.
Recall
In March 2023, the ruling party attempted to pass a similar bill through parliament. However, after protests from opponents who compared it to russian-style repression and after two nights of violent protests in Tbilisi, as well as criticism from Western countries that called it an example of a backslide from democracy, the bill was withdrawn.
