"Today's action underscores our concern about the consequences of anti-democratic actions in Georgia and efforts by key individuals to use violence and intimidation to achieve their aims," said Treasury official Bradley Smith.
The legislation will now be sent back to President Salome Zourabichvili, who will have five days to sign into law. In the likely situation that she refuses, Parliamentary Speaker Shalva Papuashvili will be able to sign it into law, after which it will be enacted.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said he is launching a review of U.S.-Georgian relations and voiced hope that Georgia's leaders will reconsider the law.
Estonia, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Sweden are among several EU countries pushing for sanctions against Georgia in response to its government's passing of the controversial "foreign agents" law, the Financial Times (FT) reported on May 22, citing official sources.
The proposed measures would offer Georgia increased access to U.S. markets, a military support package, and the liberalization of the visa regime for Georgian citizens.
Salome Zourabichvili, Georgia's pro-Western president and a political opponent of Georgian Dream, vetoed the law on May 18, but the government has a large enough majority in parliament to overrule it.
Georgia's pro-Western President Salome Zourabichvili said on May 18 that she vetoed the controversial "foreign agents" bill previously passed by the parliament despite large-scale protests.
The bill's introduction into the parliament has led to widespread protests across the country and criticism from the EU and the U.S.
London-listed shares in the two banks, TBC and Bank of Georgia, plummeted to their lowest single-day declines since the spring of 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
For the past few weeks, thousands of protesters have gathered every night in front of the Georgian parliament in opposition to the controversial foreign agents law that the ruling Georgian Dream party is attempting to pass. The final vote is set to take place on May 14. The law would
The ministry said that individuals arrested "ignored the legal request of the police" and "violated public order, resisted, and insulted law enforcement officers."
Georgian Parliament's Legal Committee took just 67 seconds to assess and vote on the controversial foreign agents' law. At the same time, most opposition MPs could not join the session, Georgian news outlet Civil Georgia reported on May 13.
Thousands of protesters remained on the streets of Tbilisi overnight on May 12 ahead of the final reading of the controversial "foreign agents law" in Georgia's parliament on May 14.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili was referring to the controversial foreign agents law, known popularly among its opponents in Georgia as the Russian law, which Georgian Dream is attempting to pass in parliament.
"We are deeply concerned about this legislation - what it could do in terms of stifling dissent and free speech," U.S. national security spokesperson John Kirby said during a press briefing.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze will not travel to the U.S. because he was invited under the condition that Tbilisi suspend discussions on the controversial "foreign agents" law in parliament, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said on May 2.
The injuries were severe enough to require the hospitalization of the eight individuals, one of whom has already been discharged.
Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze said that "participants of the rally continued to attack the policemen," in unsubstantiated claims that contradicted both the Kyiv Independent's reporting on the ground and widespread media coverage of the event.
