Around 20,000 people demonstrated in Georgia on Wednesday against the vote on the first reading of a text on “foreign influence.’ The bill has just reached a major legislative milestone by receiving the approval of deputies from the Georgian Dream party, in power. Two other readings should follow, a process which could take weeks, especially since Georgian President Salomé Zourabichvili could then veto it.
The text is compared to Russian legislation on 'foreign agents'used by the Kremlin since 2014 to persecute dissident voices, NGOs, and independent media. “No to Russian law!" shouted the participants, while the notes of the Georgian national anthem and the Ode to Joy, one of the symbols of Europe, rang out.