Georgia said it would withdraw draft legislation labeling groups receiving funding from abroad as foreign agents, after thousands of people demonstrated against the proposed law
that authorities have used to stymie independent media and nonprofit organizations. The legislation was set to go through two more readings after Parliament backed it earlier this week in a first reading.
“The false label of ‘Russian law’ was attached to the bill, and its adoption in the first reading was presented in the eyes of a part of the public as a departure from the European course,” the party said. The bill, if passed, would have required organizations receiving more than a fifth of their funding from abroad to register as foreign agents or face significant fines. Thousands of people protested against the legislation outside Parliament in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, in rallies that at times devolved into violent clashes between police and demonstrators.
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