Georgian President Challenges Controversial Foreign Agent Law

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has filed a lawsuit against a law mandating foreign-funded groups to register as foreign agents. She claims the law contradicts the Georgian constitution's clause on EU and NATO integration. The EU has halted Georgia's integration due to the law's parliamentary approval.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili announced on Monday that she has filed a lawsuit in the Constitutional Court against a controversial law requiring groups receiving foreign funding to register as foreign agents. The legislation has sparked widespread protests across the nation.

Zourabichvili shared on Facebook statements from her parliamentary representative, asserting that the law violates a constitutional clause mandating the government to pursue efforts to join the European Union and NATO. The situation has led the EU to freeze Georgia's integration prospects following the parliament's decision to override Zourabichvili's veto in June.

The law demands that organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad register as agents of foreign influence, imposing strict disclosure requirements and punitive fines. Critics, both Georgian and Western, condemn the law as a draconian attempt to suppress dissent, likening it to similar measures in Russia. However, the ruling Georgian Dream party defends the legislation as essential for safeguarding national sovereignty.

Since her election in 2018, Zourabichvili has distanced herself from the Georgian Dream party over its perceived inadequate support for EU integration, becoming a vocal critic of the foreign agent law. Recently, she has been working to unite opposition parties to challenge the ruling party in the upcoming parliamentary elections on October 26.

(With inputs from agencies.)