Georgia | More than 60 detainees in the latest protest against a controversial bill

The authorities denounce that the participants in the protest, which lasted until dawn this Wednesday, threw stones at the police, tried to cause physical damage and burned cars, among other violent acts. For this reason, according to Interior, the use of a “proportional” response was chosen.

“66 people were arrested for contempt of the police and hooliganism,” says the official note.

Despite criticism within the country, in the United States and in the European Union, 76 Georgian parliamentarians on Tuesday supported the foreign agents projectwhile thirteen voted against.

According to the opponents, some of whom carried the flags of Georgia and the European Union yesterday, the law approved in first reading is “anti-democratic.”

Protesters also chanted against Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party of being “Putin’s slaves.”

From the United States, the Georgian president, Salomé Zurabishvili, publicly expressed her support for the protests

“I am addressing you, who are on Rustaveli Avenue. Today I am in New York and before me is the Statue of Liberty. She is a symbol for what Georgia has always fought for. I am with you, since today you represent a free Georgia,” he said.

Speaking on television, he stressed that the law “was drawn up under the dictation of Moscow”so “the project should be withdrawn”.

The president of the Georgian Dream, Irakli Kobijadze, affirmed after the protests that the controversial project has already been sent to the Venice Commission and its discussion will continue only after there is a verdict.

The day before, the president of Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, assured that the response from the Venice Commission could arrive “within about three months.”

However, the Georgian opponents intend to resume their protest actions in front of Parliament on Wednesday.

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