66 people arrested amid demonstrations in Georgia against bill on foreign agents

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Georgian authorities arrested 66 people amid demonstrations in the capital Tbilisi against the adoption of a bill on foreign agents, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.

Law enforcement officers arrested them “on the grounds of petty hooliganism and disobedience to the legal demands of the police,” said a ministry statement.

The ministry started an investigation on Tuesday regarding the demonstrations, and that a legal assessment will be conducted concerning the actions of “all persons who facilitated and organized the development of a peaceful protest into a violent action,” it added.

Throughout Tuesday, the ministry mobilized its relevant units around the legislative body to “protect public order and ensure the peaceful conduct of the protest,” the statement further noted.

The demonstrations later turned violent, with those gathering near the Georgian parliament trying to block the entrances to the parliament building.

Protesters also threw various objects at law enforcement forces, as well as physically assaulting and resisting them, to which policemen were “forced to consistently use proportional force,” according to the statement.

“Despite numerous calls from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to maintain order, protest in a peaceful manner, within the framework of the law, the participants of the rally continued their violent actions and did not obey the legal requirements of the law enforcement officers,” it explained.

The ministry will examine “all the illegal facts” which happened during the protests and “will give an appropriate legal assessment to each action,” it added.

On Tuesday, the approval of the draft law on “transparency of foreign influence” led to demonstrations in Tbilisi.

Demonstrators reacted strongly to the approval of the bill submitted by the People’s Power Party, while Georgian opposition parties argue that the law in question is anti-democratic.