Georgian parliament backs ‘Russia-style’ foreign agent law despite major protests

TBILISI, Georgia — Georgian lawmakers on Wednesday waved through controversial new legislation that would brand Western-funded civil society groups as foreign agents, despite growing public outrage and repeated warnings the move may torpedo the country’s EU aspirations.

As part of a second plenary vote on the bill, parliamentarians in the South Caucasus country backed the government’s proposals 83-23, paving the way for the law to pass in the coming weeks, even as thousands turned out to protest outside the national assembly in the capital, Tbilisi.

The measures, which will apply to NGOs, media outlets and campaign groups that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad, will still require a third vote to become law. But that is now expected to be a formality given the ruling Georgian Dream party has a working majority and amendments are not routinely proposed at that stage.

On Monday, the parliament’s legal affairs committee green-lit the law after an acrimonious hearing that saw up to a dozen opposition MPs expelled and barred from asking questions on procedural grounds. Meanwhile, NGOs and human rights defenders say they were refused opportunities to give evidence about the law’s potential impact on their work, accusing Georgian Dream party MP and committee chair Anri Okhanashvili of “censoring” their voices. Journalists from online media outlets, likely to be most affected by the bill, were also barred from entering parliament.

The draft law was initially proposed last year, but “unconditionally” shelved by the government after widespread public protests and international condemnation. While Georgian Dream maintains it is needed to ensure transparency and safeguard the country’s fragile democracy, critics say it mirrors Russian “foreign agent” rules that have been used to shutter civil society groups and repress critical voices.

Among the chief targets of the law is Transparency International’s Georgia branch, which has a long track record of exposing corruption and mismanagement of public resources. According to one Georgian Dream lawmaker, passing the the foreign agent bill would make the NGO’s director, Eka Gigauri “disappear” from public life.

Riot police without official markings pour into Tbilisi’s Freedom Square ahead of planned protests on Wednesday evening. | Gabriel Gavin/POLITICO

“We’re not going anywhere,” Gigauri told POLITICO. “This is exactly out of Moscow’s playbook — I’m not the foreign agent, they are. We’re not the traitors, they are. I wouldn’t have a problem finding a nice job somewhere else, but we do what we do because we’re patriots, and because we really care about the people of this country.”

When the plans were reintroduced earlier this month, a spokesperson for the European Commission said that passing the bill would contravene the terms under which Georgia was granted candidate status for EU membership. The U.S. State Department, meanwhile, said the “Kremlin-inspired” rules fly in the face of “the wishes of the overwhelming majority of Georgian citizens — the desire to integrate fully into the EU.”

Georgian Dream and the press office of the Georgian Parliament did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in cities across Georgia in the past few weeks, demanding the withdrawal of the proposed legislation. However, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has hit out at detractors, accusing them of being “politically bankrupt” and insisting “the Georgian people support transparency.”

On Tuesday night, riot police moved to shut down peaceful demonstrations outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, using tear gas and shields to forcibly disperse protesters. At least 63 people were confirmed to have been detained, while a senior opposition politician was left with a badly swollen eye and missing teeth after reportedly being beaten by officers. The country’s human rights ombudsman has accused authorities of using “disproportionate” force against the crowds, while the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, urged the ruling Georgian Dream party to ensure the right to peaceful assembly is respected.

The bloc’s enlargement chief, Gert Jan Koopman, arrived in Tbilisi on Wednesday morning as part of a scheduled visit. While he has not yet publicy condemned the violence, he posted online that he would be holding talks with government officials and MPs. “Georgians worked hard to get candidate status,” he wrote, “current challenges need to be tackled and we are here to help to address them.”

Pro-EU Georgians are protesting against the so-called ‘Russian law’ in Tbilisi, despite a major crackdown by riot police.

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Pressure is growing for Brussels to take a tougher line. “The foreign agent law is a betrayal of the Georgian people’s European aspirations,” said Miriam Lexmann, a European People’s Party MEP and member of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. “The European Union should not open accession negotiations with Georgia as long as the law will be part of Georgia’s legal order. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to assess the impact on the EU’s role as a donor and its support programs for Georgia.”

Crackdown threat

Bidzina Ivanishvili, a prominent oligarch and founder of Georgian Dream, made a dramatic return to politics earlier this year as honorary chairman of the ruling party and has personally endorsed the proposed foreign agent law. Analysts credit him with having used his connections in politics to bring about a sharp pivot away from the West and towards Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine, with the government refusing to impose sanctions on Moscow and strengthening lucrative economic ties.

In a rare public appearance, Ivanishvili hosted a rally in support of the contentious proposals on Monday evening, with tens of thousands of people bussed in from across the country.

“Georgia should be governed by the government elected by the Georgian people,” he insisted in a lengthy speech promising harsh consequences for the opposition. Hinting at a conspiratorial view of the Western world, he said that a “global party of war” had instigated Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and that “NGOs and [the] radical opposition are acting on their behalf.”

“The laws that we are proposing are there to expose those dark linkages.”

While Ivanishvili devoted his speech to calling out the enemies attacking Georgia, he didn’t namecheck Russia, even though Moscow occupies 20 percent of Georgian territories, backing local proxies in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

He also vowed that the United National Movement, Georgia’s largest bloc of opposition MPs, would face “harsh political and legal judgment” following nationwide elections in October. Brussels has said tackling political polarization is a critical requirement for Georgia to one day achieve EU membership.

“A free, independent and sovereign Georgia, a member of the EU, a united and undivided Georgia,” Ivanishvili said. “This is our Georgian dream, which we will definitely achieve together.”

Although thousands attended the pro-government demonstration, critics say their presence is not representative of how many Georgians feel.

“Georgian Dream has a lot of administrative powers that they are abusing and there’s evidence of that. They are threatening people that if they wouldn’t join their support to demonstrations they’d lose their jobs,” said Tinatin Akhvlediani, a Georgian analyst with the Brussels-based Center for European Policy Studies.

Further demonstrations are expected Wednesday evening, despite a large police presence around Tbilisi.

“I’ve been protesting every night for weeks,” said Luka, a 22-year-old student who joined the crowds forming outside the parliament building. “I’ll keep protesting until they listen to us.”