Georgia drops foreign agents law after massive protests

By SOPHIKO MEGRELIDZE
Associated Press

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia’s parliament has voted to drop a foreign agent registration bill after the legislation prompted tens of thousands of protesters to swarm the capital this week. Lawmakers voted 35-1 against the bill during a session that lasted just four minutes on Friday and featured no discussion. The vote came less than a day after Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, said it would withdraw the legislation. The proposed law would have required media and nongovernmental organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from foreign sources to register as “agents of foreign influence.” Critics argued the bill was inspired by a similar law in Russia that has been used to silence critics.