(Berlin, May 9, 2024) – The Georgian parliament’s introduction of a bill obliging certain nongovernmental groups and media outlets to register as “organizations serving the interests of a foreign power” threatens fundamental rights in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. The bill, under debate since mid-April 2024, prompted harsh criticism from Georgia’s bilateral and international partners and led to some of the largest peaceful protests in the country in recent decades. There have been multiple, credible reports of unjustified police use of violence to disperse them. The bill has passed two readings and is scheduled for its final adoption the week of May 13.