Riot police move in against Georgia protesters
By Jacqueline Howard
Riot police in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi have moved in to clear thousands of people demonstrating through the night against a proposed law.
The protesters oppose the controversial foreign influence bill, described by critics as the “Russia law”.
Georgian MPs will hear the third and final reading of the bill on Monday.
The bill targets civil society organisations and independent media that receive foreign funding.
Protesters are concerned that the law would be used by the government to clamp down on dissent, and would harm Georgia’s hopes of joining the European Union.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators spent the night outside Tbilisi’s parliament building, dancing as it rained through the dark hours. Once the sun rose on Monday, MPs from the governing party arriving ahead of the session were met with shouts and chants from the crowd.
Ranks of police with shields and water cannon were stationed at the building to prevent demonstrators from stopping legislators getting into the parliament building to enact the new law.
Photos and footage online appeared to show violent altercations between protesters and police.
