As thousands of Georgians peacefully gathered in front of the parliament to protest the government’s proposal to reintroduce the so-called Russian-inspired “foreign agents’” law, we are alarmed to see footage from numerous media outlets in Tbilisi of police using excessive force – including pepper spray, beatings, and illegal detention – to disperse protesters.
We are alarmed by the reintroduction of this law by the Government, which has seen widespread condemnation ranging from the EU Council President Charles Michel, prominent members of the European Parliament, the EU and the US ambassadors to Georgia, to the President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili. Taken directly from Vladimir Putin’s playbook, the law will severely undermine the work of Georgian civil society organisations.
We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our liberal colleagues and the Georgian people who have repeatedly and unambiguously stated their intention to see their country join the European Union. We urge the Georgian Dream majority to withdraw this antidemocratic law and the Georgian government to ensure that the Georgian police and security services demonstrate restraint and refrain from excessive acts of violence.
We call on Prime Minister Kobakhidze to fulfil the obligations Georgia has subscribed to as part of its EU accession process – specifically the nine conditions indicated by the European Commission – and to deliver on the Euro-Atlantic future that the Georgian people are demanding.
Valérie Hayer MEP
President, RENEW Group in the European Parliament
Sen. Timmy Dooley and Ilhan Kyuchyuk MEP
Co-Presidents, Alliance of Liberal and Democrats for Europe Party
Dr. Hakima el Haité
President, Liberal International
Update: On April 25, the European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution on attempts to reintroduce a foreign agent law in Georgia and its restrictions on civil society. The resolution states that “EU accession negotiations should not be opened as long as this law is part of Georgia’s legal order” and should consider possible sanctions on oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili.
