The Georgian government has been forced to withdraw its controversial “foreign agent” law after days of mass protests against what many saw as Russian-inspired legislation which would limit press freedom, making its chances of ever joining the European Union near impossible.
Over two nights this week, thousands of protesters have packed the streets of Tbilisi demanding “No to Russian law”. Riot police used teargas and water cannons. More than 60 people were detained. But the scale of protests led the ruling Georgian Dream party to back down, saying in a statement it would “unconditionally withdraw the bill we supported without any reservations”.
The bill, which had only recently been introduced by the Georgian government, would prevent non-government groups and the media from taking more than 20% of funding from abroad. It is similar to a law passed in Russia in 2022 which has been used to crack down on media freedom.
