Raucous debates resume over Georgia's controversial 'foreign agents' law

On Wednesday, Georgian lawmakers resumed debate on the second reading of the "foreign agents" bill. Before considering the scandalous pro-Kremlin bill, a fight broke out between the lawmakers. Once again.

The Georgian parliament resumed discussion on the law "on the transparency of foreign influence," often called the "foreign agents" law. Again, controversies surrounding the proposed legislation sparked heated debates in the parliament, which crossed the bounds of acceptable behaviour.

The recording captures the moment when a physical confrontation occurs between the lawmakers. Other parliamentarians' attempts to separate the politicians are visible. A growing group of lawmakers gathered around them, not hiding their outrage. Shouts and commotion could be heard in the assembly hall.

A similar situation occurred in mid-April. The attack occurred during the bill's presentation by a representative of the ruling party in Georgia.

The party secretary, Mamuka Mdinaradze, was presenting the document's premises from the podium then. Then Aleko Elisashvili, the leader of the opposition party Citizens, ran up to him and hit him on the head.

Other politicians immediately intervened—some joined the fight, while others tried to separate the lawmakers involved.

The Georgian Dream party, ruling in Georgia for the third term, is again trying to pass the law on "transparency of foreign influences." It is inspired by Russian law, which is often called the "Russian law" or "foreign agents law." The project requires that organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad register, submit reports, and be placed in a special registry of foreign influence agents.

Last year, the Georgian Dream Party attempted to push through a similar bill. However, it withdrew it due to protests. The new version of the project also met with criticism, and protesters reappeared in Tbilisi. This time, the ruling party has not yet abandoned further actions on the bill.

President Salome Zurabishvili, the opposition, and human rights defenders criticize the bill. The European Union and the United States advised the ruling party to avoid legislative ideas inspired by Russian repressive law.