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US embassy in Georgia supports protests against foreign agent law

Anti-government protests have been cropping up sporadically in the Georgian capital since April 15, when the ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party started discussing the bill on the Transparency of Foreign Influence

TBILISI, May 2. /TASS/. The US Embassy in Tbilisi has put its support behind protests underway in the Georgian capital against a foreign agent bill.

"We stand by the Georgian people as we support their right to have their voice heard. We condemn violence against peaceful protesters, including reporters covering the protest. Any use of force to disperse a peaceful rally and suppress the freedom of speech is inadmissible," the embassy said in a statement.

Anti-government protests have been cropping up sporadically in the Georgian capital since April 15, when the ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party started discussing the bill on the Transparency of Foreign Influence. The first three days of large-scale protests were followed by peaceful marches that Georgian youths had held almost daily. As many as 63 people were detained and six police officers were injured during an opposition protest in Tbilisi on April 30, according to data from the Georgian Interior Ministry.

The ruling party announced a decision in early April to reintroduce the draft law to parliament. This happened a year after a similar initiative triggered mass protests, forcing the authorities to shelve the bill. The text of the bill is almost identical to last year’s version, with one exception: the term "agent of foreign influence" has been replaced with "entity pursuing foreign interests." Georgian lawmakers approved the second reading of the bill on Wednesday.

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