At least 20 arrested in Georgia for protests against the ‘Russian law’ on “foreign influence”

At least 20 people were arrested this Monday in Georgia in a demonstration against the law ‘On transparency of foreign influence’which opponents accuse of “Russian law” due to its similarity to the foreign agents law used in Russia to silence the opposition.

The protesters, according to the Ministry of the Interior, tried to hinder the work of Parliament, where today the Legislative Legal Committee gave its approval to the controversial bill promoted by the Government.

Those arrested face fines of up to 3,000 lari ($1,100) or arrests for a period of 5 to 15 days, if found guilty of contempt and resisting the police.

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According to the Interior, among those detained is a citizen of USA and one from Russia.

The bill ‘On the transparency of foreign influence’provides for the annual publication of statements by non-governmental organizations and media whose budget is made up of more than 20% of foreign contributions.

Parliament is scheduled to vote this Tuesday in third reading on controversial textsomething that is taken for granted because the government formation, Georgian Dream, has an absolute majority in the Legislature.

The president of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvilihas declared that he will veto the law, but his veto will be easily overcome by the ruling majority in Parliament.

In defense of its project, the Government maintains that it does not provide for criminal liability, only fines of more than $9,000 in case of refusing to reveal the origin of the money.

The authorities explain the need to approve the law by saying that more than 80% of this income they are not transparent and can be used to destabilize before the next parliamentary elections on October 26.