For the last 10 days, thousands of Georgians – many in their late teens and early 20s – have been bringing the traffic of the capital, Tbilisi, to a standstill.

They demand that the government scrap plans to introduce a controversial bill – dubbed the “foreign agent” law – many say is inspired by authoritarian legislation neighbouring Russia uses to crush dissent.

Under the bill proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, NGOs and independent media that receive more than 20% of their funding from foreign donors would have to register as organisations “bearing the interests of a foreign power”.
They would also be monitored by the Justice Ministry and could be forced to share sensitive information – or face hefty fines of up to 25,000 GEL ($9,400; £7,500).

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