Georgia makes six delayed arrests after rallies against foreign agents bill

9/5/2024 16:59

        Georgian authorities have arrested six people for assaulting police officers and causing damage at protests in recent weeks against a bill on "foreign agents", the interior ministry said on Thursday.
        
        The bill, which would require organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence, has sparked huge protests in the South Caucasus country by demonstrators who see it as authoritarian and Russian-inspired.
        
        Police have fired water cannon, tear gas and stun grenades to disperse crowds. Over a dozen people, including police officers, have been hospitalised.
        
        The interior ministry said in a statement that the six people were arrested for damaging video surveillance equipment and throwing stones at police officers at rallies on April 16 and May 1.