Thousands of Georgians defy warnings to join protest against ‘Russia’ bill

Thousands of Georgians have joined new protests in Tbilisi against a Russian-styled “foreign agents” bill, as the government insisted it would push ahead with the legislation even after some of the largest protests since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Georgia’s Parliament will vote on the law on Tuesday. Opponents say the law could be used to crack down on dissent and will hit the country’s bid to join the European Union. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said earlier he aimed to pass the bill this week and threatened protesters with prosecution. The bill requires organisations receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence or face punitive fines. Al Jazeera’s Dmitry Medvedenko reports from the capital Tbilisi. Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ #Georgia #GeorgiaProtests #GeorgiaForeignAgentLaw #GeorgianMedia