The bill on foreign agents led to unrest in Tbilisi

In Tbilisi, Rustaveli Avenue near the parliament building, rallies were held against the adoption of one of the variants of the bill on foreign agents. The discussion of the document “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” introduced by a group of deputies close to the ruling party took place against the backdrop of demonstrations and clashes with the police. 76 Georgian parliamentarians voted “for” the bill, 13 voted “against” (there are 139 deputies in the parliament). According to the project, people and organizations will be able to register as “agents of foreign influence” if their income is more than 20% received from abroad. The meeting was broadcast on the website of the parliament of the republic.

The situation near the parliament building escalated after the results of the vote became known at about 20:30 Moscow time, and the police brought up a water cannon. The press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country said that the protest action “went beyond the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly” and acquired a “violent character.” The special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country also joined the dispersal of the rally. Ambulances arrived at the Georgian Parliament. The security forces began to use tear gas against the protesters, witnesses confirm. The protesters threw Molotov cocktails, firecrackers and stones at the policemen, the Georgian First Channel, Rustavi2, Mtavari TV and others report.

As of 23:00 Moscow time, clashes between the protesters and the police near the parliament continued, the demonstrators broke through and broke some police fences. The message on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia refers to several injured policemen, their number is not specified. The number of demonstrators also injured is unknown. Around 23:00, protesters tried to break into the parliament building. Sputnik Georgia reports on the use of non-lethal ammunition by the police.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, speaking earlier in the morning of March 7 in New York, criticized the bill and said that it should not be adopted. After the demonstrations and clashes with the police in Tbilisi, as well as the forceful dispersal of the protesters, Zurabishvili supported the protesters in a video message to the Georgian people.

“I appeal to you, to those who are standing on Rustaveli tonight, as I myself have stood many times. I am with you because you represent free Georgia. A country that belongs to free Europe and no one can take it away,” said the President of Georgia (quoted by Rustavi2). According to her, the bill is allegedly adopted “under the dictation of Moscow”, and she herself intends to impose a “veto” on it.

The American embassy in Tbilisi said that the adoption of the bill on foreign agents in Georgia in the first reading is a “black day for Georgian democracy.” The adoption of such a law “would harm Georgia’s relations with its strategic partners and undermine the important work of many Georgian organizations that help fellow citizens.” In addition, the American diplomatic mission stressed that what is happening “raises real questions about the commitment of the ruling party [Грузии] Euro-Atlantic Integration”. US State Department spokesman Ned Price admitted at the briefing that those responsible for dispersing the demonstrators could fall under US sanctions and condemned the actions of the Georgian authorities.

In February 2023, members of the Power of the People movement (a group of deputies who left the ruling Georgian Dream in 2022, but are part of the parliamentary majority) introduced two draft laws on foreign agents to parliament – “On the transparency of foreign influence” and “ On the registration of foreign agents.

The first option (it was approved on March 7, in Georgia it is compared with the Russian legislation on foreign agents) assumes that non-profit legal entities and the media will receive the status of agents of foreign influence if more than 20% of their income comes from abroad. They must undergo mandatory registration, and in case of refusal they can be fined, in addition, an investigation by the country’s Ministry of Justice may be initiated against them.

The second, tougher option is conditionally called “American” because of its proximity to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA, adopted in the United States in 1938). According to it, the status of a foreign agent is provided not only for the media and non-governmental organizations, but also for other legal entities and individuals.

Violations are fraught with not only administrative, but also criminal penalties: individuals may face imprisonment for up to five years. It was submitted to parliament after the opposition criticized the first bill.

These two options, as they write in the Georgian press, are directed against the activities of Western NGOs and persons associated with them in the country.

The third version of the bill was submitted to the Georgian parliament on March 1, 2023, its authors are members of the opposition For Georgia party. As explicitly stated in the explanatory documents, in this bill, unlike the other two options, it is about countering the influence of Moscow

At the same time, even if a Russian citizen in Georgia receives 20% or more of funds from the Russian Federation, he can be recognized as a foreign agent if the law is passed, says Sergey Glandin, partner at the NSP law firm and an expert in international law. But all the bills (although one is a copy of the US FARA and the other is a copy of the Russian 255-FZ) leave room for selective enforcement, says Glandin.