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Georgia's largest opposition party, the United National Movement (UNM), will file a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court on July 29 over the controversial law on "foreign agents," the party told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Georgian service.
The lawsuit was signed by 32 opposition lawmakers on July 22.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who has criticized the law as jeopardizing the country's aspirations to join the European Union, filed her complaint against the law with the Constitutional Court on July 15.
Zourabichvili initially vetoed the bill, which requires organizations that receive foreign funding to be labeled as "foreign agents" and mirrors repressive Russian legislation used to crack down on Kremlin critics.
The Georgian parliament, dominated by the ruling Georgian Dream party, bypassed the president's veto on May 28 with 84 lawmakers voting in support.
Starting from August, NGOs and media outlets that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad based on 2023 data, must register with the authorities within a month as "foreign agents."
The law allows the authorities to monitor such organizations and obtain required information like personal data.
The legislation was heavily criticized by both domestic opposition and the EU. Its reintroduction into the parliament in April led to massive protests, with the police firing at the demonstrators with rubber bullets and water cannons.
Washington and Brussels have denounced the bill as incompatible with Western values, and the EU said Georgia's membership process had been effectively halted as a result.
Sonya Bandouil
(Updated: )
