Riot Police Clash With Demonstrators During Tbilisi 'Foreign Agent' Bill Protest
Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi on Tuesday evening, March 7, after the country’s parliament passed the first reading of a so-called “foreign agent” law.
Video from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Georgia shows riot police blasting protesters with water and fiery objects being thrown at police.
The “foreign agent” law would require organizations that receive more than 20 percent of funding from abroad to register as foreign agents. Human Rights Watch condemned the legislation, saying it “would also impose additional onerous reporting requirements, inspections, and administrative and criminal liability, including up to five years in prison for violations.”
Critics have likened the law, which will need to pass second and third readings before it is adopted, to legislation in Russia, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said. The outlet said some protesters chanted “down with the Russian law” during the protest.
The US Embassy in Georgia said it was a “dark day” for Georgia’s democracy. “Parliament’s advancing of these Kremlin-inspired laws is incompatible with the people of Georgia’s clear desire for European integration and its democratic development," the embassy said. Credit: RFE/RL via Storyful
