The News in Brief
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Prepared by Messenger Staff
Legal Committee Approves 'Foreign Agents' Draft Law in Swift Session Without Opposition
The legal committee has passed the draft law on "Foreign Agents" in its third reading. The session was very brief, lasting only one minute and six seconds. There was no opposition present in the hall. They claim that they were unable to attend the session because the police had blocked the entrance.
The draft law will be discussed in the final reading during the plenary session. Once it's voted on and approved in this reading, it will become law. After that, Parliament will send the approved law to the President for signature.
President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili has already stated her intention to veto the law. She has 14 days to take this action. Once the veto is returned to Parliament, lawmakers will review the President's decision and then vote again on the bill. The parliamentary majority has sufficient votes to override the veto.
GYLA Urges Investigation into Police Violence at 'Foreign Agents' Protests
The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association has called for a thorough investigation into the police violence against activists during the May 13 protests against the "foreign agents" law.
The organization urged Minister of Internal Affairs Vakhtang Gomelauri to promptly address the incident and take preventive measures. Otherwise, it may seem that senior officials in the Ministry of Internal Affairs are tolerating this behavior, potentially leading to more incidents in the future.
GYLA has urged the head of the Special Investigation Service, Koka Katsitadze, to conduct a thorough investigation into the violence that occurred on the morning of May 13, 2024. They emphasized that an inadequate response from the agency can contribute to further rights violations by law enforcement officers.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, on May 13, during the early morning hours when the Georgian Dream deputies swiftly passed the "Foreign Agents" law in its third reading in parliament, 20 protesters gathered outside were arrested.
Legal Committee Approves 'Foreign Agents' Draft Law in Swift Session Without Opposition
The draft law will be discussed in the final reading during the plenary session. Once it's voted on and approved in this reading, it will become law. After that, Parliament will send the approved law to the President for signature.
President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili has already stated her intention to veto the law. She has 14 days to take this action. Once the veto is returned to Parliament, lawmakers will review the President's decision and then vote again on the bill. The parliamentary majority has sufficient votes to override the veto.
GYLA Urges Investigation into Police Violence at 'Foreign Agents' Protests
The organization urged Minister of Internal Affairs Vakhtang Gomelauri to promptly address the incident and take preventive measures. Otherwise, it may seem that senior officials in the Ministry of Internal Affairs are tolerating this behavior, potentially leading to more incidents in the future.
GYLA has urged the head of the Special Investigation Service, Koka Katsitadze, to conduct a thorough investigation into the violence that occurred on the morning of May 13, 2024. They emphasized that an inadequate response from the agency can contribute to further rights violations by law enforcement officers.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, on May 13, during the early morning hours when the Georgian Dream deputies swiftly passed the "Foreign Agents" law in its third reading in parliament, 20 protesters gathered outside were arrested.