Moment MP is punched in the face before fight breaks out in parliament
‘Nobody needs this law. Everyone who has voted for this law has violated the constitution.’
Georgian politicians began fist-fighting during a parliamentary debate about a controversial bill – with one of them cheered on for the punch up.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, leading ruler of the Georgian Dream party and a politician who supports the ‘foreign agent’ bill, was punched by opposition leader Aleko Elisashvili while speaking.
After the first punch was thrown, several other legislators began throwing punches – with Elisashvili later being cheered on outside of the parliament building for his actions.
Five opposition MPs have now been expelled from the Judiciary Committee hearing on the bill after the brawl: Giorgi Vashadze, Paata Manjgaladze, Ana Natsvlishvili, Levan Khabeishvili and Khatia Dekanoidze.
The controversial bill was introduced by the Georgian Dream party, and would require organisations that accept funding from abroad to register as ‘foreign agents’ or face fines.
But the bill has drawn fierce backlash and caused strain for Georgian citizens who aim to join the EU.
What is the 'Foreign Agent' bill in Georgia?
The law, backed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, would require organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from overseas to register as ‘foreign agents’, or face substantial fines.
Georgian critics have labelled the bill ‘The Russian Law’, comparing it to similar legislation used by the Kremlin to crack down on dissent in Russia.
Russia is widely unpopular in Georgia, due to Moscow’s support for the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which were taken when Russia defeated Georgia in a short war in 2008.
European countries and the EU have opposed the bill, which comes as the country has already deepened their ties with Russia.
After it was introduced last year, the bill was met with Molotov cocktails, fireworks and stones hurled at police in Tbilisi by demonstrators.
But Givi Mikanadze, a Georgian Dream lawmaker, told national TV last year: ‘Georgian society absolutely deserves to know which organisations are being financed, from which sources.’
More than 60 civil society organisations and media outlets have said they will not comply with the bill if it is signed into law.
Protestors outside of the parliament building today chanted: ‘No to the Russian law!’
Saba Gotua, an architect, told AFP: ‘Georgia’s society is strong enough not to allow the country to slide into Russian-styled authoritarianism.’
But the Georgian Dream party said the bill will combat ‘pseudo-liberal values’ imposed by foreigners and promote transparency about foreign funding.
Last week, the US said the bill would ‘derail Georgia from its European path’.
They also cited worries of harm to civil society organisations and independent media in the country.
President Salome Zourabichvili, who wants to veto the law, said she was on the side of the demonstrators. But Parliament can override her veto.
In an address last March, she said: ‘You represent a free Georgia, a Georgia which sees its future in the West, and won’t let anyone to take this future away.
‘Nobody needs this law. Everyone who has voted for this law has violated the constitution.’
Georgia is set to hold an election by October – and even though the controversial Georgian Dream party remains popular, they have lost footing since they were last elected in 2020.
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