In Georgia, several thousand demonstrate against the “foreign influence” law.

Several thousand people demonstrated on Friday, May 3, in Georgia against the controversial “foreign influence” bill, which was widely criticized by Westerners. The number of demonstrators decreased compared to previous evenings, when tens of thousands of people took to the streets. Police dispersed Wednesday’s march using tear gas and rubber bullets.

On Friday, demonstrators gathered in front of the Paragraph Hotel, owned by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, where an Asian Development Bank forum is being held, attended by members of the Georgian government. The demonstrators then headed to the headquarters of the ruling Georgian Dream party, which the opposition accuses Mr. Ivanishvili of pulling the strings.

They cheered “We won’t get tired!” », “Georgia will win!” » And “No to the Russian government!” »Critics of the Georgian Dream and its ministers accuse them of serving Russia. The legislation that sparked the protest movement was inspired by a law the Kremlin has used for years to suppress dissenting voices.

Arrest a person

“We are going to the headquarters of the Georgian Dream to ask them to release the young people who were arrested in recent days and to call on them to abandon Russian law.”It was announced to Agence France-Presse that the demonstrator was Data Nadraya, a 24-year-old student in Tbilisi. Police arrested one person on Friday and arrested 23 others the day before, according to the Interior Ministry.

The draft Foreign Influence Law, which Parliament approved on second reading on Wednesday, stipulates that any non-governmental organization or media organization that receives more than 20% of its funding from abroad must register itself as an NGO.“An organization that pursues the interests of a foreign power”. This text was criticized by the United Nations, the United States, and the European Union, which Georgia aspires to join. The government, for its part, confirms that this measure aims to oblige organizations to demonstrate more “Transparency” on their financing.