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Ukrainians, farmers, Christians and Jews all named Georgia’s first ever ‘foreign agents’

Georgians protest against the “foreign agents” law near the Georgian Parliament in Tbilisi, Georgia, 16 April 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE / DAVID MDZINARISHVILI

Georgians protest against the “foreign agents” law near the Georgian Parliament in Tbilisi, Georgia, 16 April 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE / DAVID MDZINARISHVILI

The Georgian government has added five NGOs that receive over 20% of their funding from abroad on its list of “foreign agents”, the first time it has used the register since the controversial legislation creating it was signed into law in June, Echo of the Caucasus, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Georgian outlet, reported on Tuesday.

The five nonprofit organisations added to the register are the Svitanok Ukrainian Youth Organisation of Georgia, which provides aid to Ukrainian refugees, the Professional Union of Farmers and Agricultural Workers of Georgia, the Youth Center Of Kutaisi, the Union of Christians, and the Jewish Cultural and Educational Fund.

The Ukrainian Youth Organisation of Georgia published a statement on Tuesday stressing that it had been compelled to register as a “foreign agent” to avoid endangering their employees, despite opposing the restrictive law and believing it to be an “obstacle” on Georgia’s path to EU accession.

“We hope that this law will become invalid and that Georgia, through a diverse, free and strong civil society sector, will soon celebrate the transition to a new stage of EU integration,” the organisation wrote.

Georgia’s foreign agent law, which was signed by the speaker of the Georgian parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, in June, and officially entered into force on 1 August, requires any NGO and media outlet receiving over 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence”.

Widely referred to by Georgians as the “Russian law” due to its similarities to a notorious piece of legislation adopted by the State Duma in 2012 that has since been used by the Kremlin as a tool to weaken civil society and silence independent media.

The country’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, has been pivoting away from Europe and towards Russia for the past year, despite research which suggests that over 90% of Georgians see their future as a part of Europe.

On 17 September, the Georgian parliament passed another controversial bill mirroring another piece of Russian legislation, which bans the dissemination of so-called “LGBT propaganda”, same-sex marriage and adoption, as well as gender reassignment surgery.

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