Czech foreign minister condemns violence against protestors in Georgia

Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský has condemned the use of violence against protesters in Georgia, saying on social media site X that the proposed "foreign agent" law is not in line with Georgia's European aspirations and that the right to peaceful assembly is a basic human right that the Georgian authorities must respect.

Several people were injured during protests after the Georgian parliament approved the second reading of a controversial bill on Wednesday. For the past two nights, riot police in Georgia have fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds of people protesting against the proposed law, denounced by opponents as Russian-inspired, that would require organisations to state whether they are funded from abroad. A similar law, enacted in Russia in 2012, has been used to silence voices challenging the Kremlin, and protesters in Georgia fear it could be similarly used in their country ahead of parliamentary elections later this year.