georgiandream
The speaker of the Georgian parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, signed a controversial "foreign agents" bill into law, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Georgian service reported on June 3. Papuashvili made the announcement during a briefing at the parliament building. President Salome Zourabichvili initially vetoed the bill, which requires organizations that receive foreign funding to be labeled as "foreign agents" and mirrors repressive Russian legislation used to crack down on Kremlin regime critics. The Georgian parliament, dominated by the ruling Georgian Dream party, bypassed the pr...
Kyiv Independent
A Tbilisi office of United National Movement (UNM), a Georgian opposition party, was attacked by up to 100 masked men overnight on June 1, the party said in a statement. UNM, founded by imprisoned ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili, is currently the strongest opposition party in the parliament and will seek to challenge the ruling Georgian Dream party in the October elections. The news comes amid heightened tensions in the country after Georgian Dream passed a controversial "foreign agents" law, reminiscent of a similar legislation used by the Kremlin to crack down on dissent. "The attack lasted...
Kyiv Independent
Georgia's parliament voted on May 28 to overrule President Salome Zourabichvili's veto of the controversial foreign agents law, moving the legislation closer to its likely enactment. The bill requires organizations that receive foreign funding to be labeled as "foreign agents" and mirrors repressive Russian legislation used to crack down on Kremlin regime critics. Zourabichvili vetoed the law on May 18, but Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili announced two days later that the ruling Georgian Dream party planned to overrule her vote. The legislation will now be sent back to Zourabichvili, who...
Kyiv Independent
As the West’s political leaders become increasingly preoccupied with the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, they risk losing their geopolitical influence in a small but strategically significant Black Sea country: Georgia. On April 29, in one of his rare public appearances, Bidzina Ivanishvili – the founder and de facto leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party and a reclusive billionaire – accused the United States and the European Union of being a Western “global war party” and meddling in Georgia’s internal affairs. Taking a page from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s playbook, Ivanishvili ...
Kyiv Independent
The EU will freeze Georgia's membership bid if it enacts its controversial "foreign agents" law, the Financial Times (FT) reported on May 15, citing three undisclosed EU officials. The bill requires organizations that receive foreign funding to be labeled as "foreign agents" and mirrors repressive Russian legislation used to crack down on Kremlin regime critics. Georgia's parliament passed the bill in its third and final reading on May 14. "We have been very clear ... this is a showstopper," a person briefed on discussions between Georgia and the EU told the FT, adding: "(The Georgian governme...
Kyiv Independent
Shares in Georgia's two largest banks, TBC and Bank of Georgia, dropped sharply on May 15, the day after U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jim O'Brien warned top Georgian government officials about potential consequences should the controversial foreign agents law be enacted. London-listed shares in the two banks plummeted to their lowest single-day declines since the spring of 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some analysts in Georgia believed the drop, which impacted other financial institutions, was directly connected to the passing of the law. Georgia's parliament passed the co...
Kyiv Independent
For the past few weeks, thousands of protesters have gathered every night in front of the Georgian parliament in opposition to the controversial foreign agents law that the ruling Georgian Dream party is attempting to pass. The final vote is set to take place on May 14. The law would require organizations that receive foreign funding to be labeled as foreign agents. Opponents argue that it will stifle civil society and independent media and help the government suppress dissent. The protests have begun to morph into a larger sign of discontent against the government and the direction it is taki...
Kyiv Independent
Georgian police arrested 20 people, including two U.S. citizens, at the ongoing anti-government protests in Tbilisi on May 13, the Internal Affairs Ministry said. The ministry's statement only listed the initials and birthdates of the two Americans, but the Kyiv Independent learned that one of those arrested was Patrick Hernandez-Ball, a 29-year-old from California who has lived in Georgia for several years. Another citizen of Russia was also arrested, the ministry said. The individuals "ignored the legal request of the police" and "violated public order, resisted, and insulted law enforcement...
Kyiv Independent
Georgian police again attacked protesters gathered by the parliament building in Tbilisi on the evening of May 1, injuring at least eight, authorities reported. The injuries were severe enough to require the hospitalization of the eight individuals, one of whom has already been discharged. Tens of thousands of protesters gathered again the day after Georgian police violently attempted to disperse a demonstration in opposition to the controversial "foreign agents" law the ruling Georgian Dream party is attempting to pass. Undeterred by the previous night's violence, protesters urged the parliam...
Kyiv Independent
Georgian police arrested 63 demonstrators during a violent crackdown on anti-government protesters who gathered in opposition on April 30 to the controversial foreign agents law, said Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze at a briefing on May 1. The bill, which must be passed in three readings before it becomes law, would require organizations that receive foreign funding to be labeled as "foreign agents." The law mirrors repressive Russian laws used to crack down on Kremlin regime critics and is popularly referred to in Georgia as the "Russian law." For the past two weeks, thousan...
Kyiv Independent
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