Protests in Georgia: Government 'unconditionally' withdraws Law on Foreign Agents

Georgian authorities have withdrawn a controversial "law on foreign agents" after two consecutive nights of violent protests, the Guardian reports. This retreat follows strong condemnation from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the media. Critics of the Foreign Agents Act say the new legislation is similar to Russian legislation, which was used to stifle dissent. In the latest edition of the Georgian protests, the

Georgian government announced that it would withdraw the law. Authorities have waived a new law that would require media and NGOs that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to be registered as "agents of foreign influence".

The draft of a new law on foreign agents was initially approved but later criticized by the media and NGOs. International organizations have expressed concern about the law, saying it runs counter to Georgia's democratic development. Shalva Papuashvili, speaker of the Georgian parliament, shared a document on a social media platform in which she shared an image of a transparency law on foreign interference. On Twitter,

wrote: 'I am submitting foreign interference transparency legislation to @VeniceComm to balance the legitimate goals of transparency, accountability and security on the one hand and freedom and the rights of non-profit organizations on the other.'