News brief

Georgia “foreign agents” bill stirs protests. Thousands of Georgians marched through the capital, Tbilisi, on April 29, as protests grew against a bill on “foreign agents” that the country’s opposition and Western countries have said is authoritarian and Russian-inspired. Georgia’s parliament said it would hold the bill’s second reading on April 30, with opposition parties and civil society groups calling for mass protests against its expected passage. If passed, the draft law would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents” or face fines. 

Polls show that 85% of Georgia’s citizens want a West-facing future – and membership in the European Union. But since the Georgian Dream party won democratic elections in 2012, there has been backsliding in anti-corruption, press freedom, and justice.