(CNN) Georgia’s parliament on Friday officially revoked a controversial “foreign influence” law that sparked major protests over fears that it resembled Russian laws used to stifle political dissent.
According to the public broadcaster First Channel in Georgia, the Georgian lawmakers voted against the bill in the second reading by a majority of 35 to 1.
Friday’s vote came a day after the country’s ruling party announced it would abolish the proposed law, hours after tens of thousands of people gathered outside Georgia’s parliament for a second night of protests. Senior officials in the US and European Union also expressed concern about the bill.
The controversial legislation would have required organizations that derive 20% or more of their annual income from abroad To as “foreign agents” or face hefty fines – a proposal legal experts warned would have a chilling effect on the Have civil society in the country and damage its democracy.
Georgian lawmakers officially repealed a controversial “foreign influence” law on March 10, 2023, after widespread demonstrations against the proposed law shook parts of the country.
Georgia gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and has since attempted to strike a diplomatic balance between the pro-European stance of its citizens and the geopolitical ambitions of its powerful neighbor Russia.
Western leaders hailed Thursday’s decision to shelve the law, and the European Union office in Georgia said it encouraged the country’s lawmakers to “resume pro-EU reforms.” Although Georgia was not granted EU candidate status after applying for membership in March 2022, the European Council has expressed its willingness to grant this status if the country implements certain reforms.
A protester in Georgia, pictured March 9, carries an EU flag during a protest against the proposed ‘foreign agents’ law.
Meanwhile, Moscow said Friday it was monitoring so-called “provocations” in Georgia with “great concern” after mass protests were forced there The Controversial draft law to be scrapped.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Georgia’s decision to withdraw the law was “tainted with provocations” and denied Russian influence in proposing the Putin-like “foreign agents” law.
“The situation that served as a trigger for these popular unrest and insurgent manifestations has nothing to do with the Russian Federation,” Peskov said, adding, “Russia has nothing to do with it, either in substance or in form. We don’t interfere with internal Georgian affairs.”
Peskov instead claimed that the US had interfered in Georgian affairs and that Washington was “diligently trying to reintroduce an anti-Russian element.”
fight “not over”
Demonstrators outside Georgia’s parliament welcomed the scrapping of the bill but said they would continue to fight for their country’s EU accession in the form of a 12-point plan.
“This is a victory for our people… we have been scattered many times, but we have returned with a common European and national idea. The main demand of this protest was to have this law dropped, but our aspiration is for Georgia to become a member of the European Union,” said Tamar Jakeli, one of the protest organizers, according to First Channel.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) deputy director Giorgi Gogia warned earlier that “the fight is probably not over yet”.
“The leader of the ruling party was speaking, blaming critical media and independent groups for the polarization in the country and trying to discredit them,” tweeted Gogia, deputy director of HRW’s Europe and Central Asia department.
Gogia had said that the proposed law posed a clear threat to human rights in Georgia.
CNN’s Rhea Mogul, Sophie Tanno, Niamh Kennedy, Hannah Ritchie and Sana Noor Haq contributed coverage.