Clash in Tbilisi: Police quell protests against controversial law

Water cannons, rubber bullets, and tear gas were used by security forces in Tbilisi to disperse a protest against the so-called foreign agents law – Georgian media reported on Tuesday evening.

Special forces began dispersing the protest with water cannons and tear gas canisters, as reported by the Newsgeorgia.ge portal. Georgian media on social networks have published videos from the capital's centre.

There were earlier reports of the police using pepper spray and officers using brutal force against demonstrators.

Activists and journalists covering the protest have posted videos online showing officers beating unarmed protesters. In the centre of Tbilisi, a large police force was assembled and equipped to disperse protests, including water cannons.

In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated it had used "legally established" special measures because protest participants did not comply with calls to disperse, blocking the entrance to the parliament and preventing deputies from leaving – Interpress.ge reports.

Protesters "confront the law enforcement officers verbally and physically, and also throw various objects in their direction," the statement said.

On Tuesday evening, thousands protested in front of the parliament building. This is another massive demonstration since the ruling party in Georgia, Georgian Dream, resumed processing the law on the transparency of foreign influences at the beginning of April. Last year, facing mass protests and calls from Western countries, Georgian Dream halted the law's adoption. This time, the ruling party is determined to pass the law, which, it argues, will ensure "financial transparency" of NGOs, the opposition, and the media.

Modelled on Russian law, also called "the Russian law" or "the foreign agents' law," it requires that legal entities and media receiving more than 20% of their financing from abroad register and report and be placed in a special registry of foreign influence agents. Under any pretext, the Ministry of Justice could inspect such organizations.

Representatives from the USA, EU, and UN have expressed concern about resuming control over the law and appealed to the Georgian authorities to abandon the draft. They highlight, among other things, that it contradicts Georgia's European aspirations and the process of Euro-integration. Georgia was granted EU candidate status in December 2023.

Although Georgians have taken to the streets in large numbers again, the Georgian Dream insists it will not back down, labelling the critical remarks and appeals from the USA, EU, or international organisations as "interference in internal affairs."

The law is set to be voted on in the Georgian parliament in the second reading on Wednesday.