Thousands protest after Georgia Parliament passes ‘foreign agents’ bill

The bill requires organisations receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as foreign agents.

Thousands of protesters have rallied in Georgia after its parliament passed the third and final reading of a bill on “foreign agents” despite warnings from Brussels that its passage could harm the country’s bid to join the European Union.

There were confrontations between riot police and protesters outside the parliament building on Tuesday after lawmakers voted 84 to 30 to pass the bill, clearing a major hurdle for the legislation to become law.

“This law is taking away my future,” 19-year-old protester Anano Plievi told the Agence France-Presse news agency outside parliament.

“I am angry and proud of all these people at the same time. We are going to keep going towards Europe.”

Al Jazeera’s Dmitry Medvedenko, reporting from Tbilisi, said the “frustration of these people was quite real”.