Georgian police used a water cannon, pepper spray and tear gas at a protest against the bill on “foreign agents” in Tbilisi, the Paper Kartuli publication and the Tbilisi life telegram channel report. According to RIA Novosti, security forces disperse protesters with rubber bullets.
The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that the police used special equipment because the rally participants “entered into verbal and physical confrontation with law enforcement officers and threw various objects in their direction.” According to the Tbilisi life telegram channel, protesters threw eggs towards parliament. According to Rusnews, they threw them at the security officer.
The police forcefully dragged the rally participants away from the doors of parliament, as follows from footage from the Formula TV channel. Local blogger Nikolai Levshits writes about several detainees.
Doctors provided first aid to 20 protesters, Novosti-Georgia reports. According to emergency doctors, victims mainly complain of suffocation and pain in the eyes. At least one more person lost consciousness after being hit by a rubber bullet, Rusnews reports.
On April 30, the second reading of the bill on “foreign agents” began in the Georgian parliament; it will continue on May 1. The document was adopted in the first reading on April 17, then 83 parliamentarians voted for it, 50 people abstained from voting, and no one spoke against it. At the same time, opposition deputies left the hall before the vote after a conflict with other parliamentarians.
Georgian President Salome Zarubashvili called the bill a copy of “Putin’s law” on “foreign agents” in force in Russia. She promised to veto the amendments, but noted that a veto could be overridden by a majority in parliament.
The bill on “foreign agents” is being considered in Georgia for the second time. The amendments were first introduced to parliament in early 2023, but in March of the same year they were rejected in the second reading amid mass protests. Then, at rallies against the initiative, Georgian security forces used water cannons and tear gas against protesters.
“Many people took to the streets. Crazy amount.» Photographer Mariam Giunashvili — about new protests against the law on “foreign agents” in Georgia