A fight in the Georgian parliament over the bill on foreign agents

On April 15, at a meeting of the legal committee of the Georgian Parliament, a fight broke out between opposition leader Aleko Elisashvili and the leader of the pro-government faction Mamuka Mdinaradze. Elisashvili slammed Mdinaradze, who is presenting the bill "On transparency of foreign influence" to deputies. After that, the meeting was suspended.

A "yellow level" of security has been introduced in the Parliament of Georgia due to the consideration of the draft law "On Transparency of foreign Influence" in the committee on legal issues. The action against the law on foreign agents under the slogan "No to Russian law" will begin in front of parliament at 19:00.

The ruling party claims that the bill is aimed solely at strengthening the transparency of the work of NGOs and the media, which receive foreign funding. At the same time, the authorities accuse European and American foundations of "financing radicalism and revolutionary sentiments" in Georgia. Similar measures have been used in Russia to suppress civil society. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said that this was a "Russian law" and promised to veto it. However, the President's veto is symbolic.