Georgia speaker signs up to Russian Law

The speaker of the Georgian parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, has signed a controversial “foreign agents” bill into law after the country’s president Salome Zurabishvili refused to do so. The so-called “Russian law” comes into force today and is widely interpreted as an attack on media and free speech. Media outlets will have to state on a government portal that they are serving the interests of a foreign power if more than 20 per cent of their funding comes from outside Georgia. The law has already been appealed at the constitutional court and the country has seen widespread protests: more than 80 per cent of Georgians want their country to join the EU. Russian officials have praised the ruling Georgian Dream party for implementing a law similar to those in force in the Russian Federation, Hungary and Kyrgyzstan. The US and the EU have criticised the bill.