It s in the same spirit as russia s foreign agent law, which over the years has been used to stigmatise and silence critical voices. the georgian government says that it wants more transparency, and that the bill has been copied from an american law, but in a statement the united states embassy in tbilisi described it as kremlin inspired legislation , and said it was a dark day for georgian democracy. this place outside georgia s parliament in the capital of tbilisi has been the scene of so many anti government and anti russia protests over the years, but this time the government may have gone too far. the country s opposition is powerless to change things inside parliament because the government holds the majority of seats, but it doesn t mean that the people of georgia are ready to give up the fight for their country to have a future in europe. we belong to europe. we are europe.
This is bbc news. our top story this hour police in georgia crack down on protestors, as thousands demonstrate against controversial new laws. this controversial new laws. is the scene, live, in the capital, this is the scene, live, in the capital, tbilisi. let s stay with that story. we can now speak to rachel denber, who s the deputy director, europe and central asia division, at human rights watch. she joins us from new york. rachel, thank you for taking the time to come in the programme. now, we ve seen those pictures, we have seen police clashing with protesters, but what is your assessment on the significance of this so called foreign agent bill? of this so-called foreign agent bill? , , , .., bill? it s very significant. it is a retrograde bill? it s very significant. it is a retrograde law, - bill? it s very significant. it is a retrograde law, a - bill? it s very significant. it is a retrograde law, a bill, | is a retrograde law, a bill, that would impose scrutiny,
Critical. so in fact it is used for a very small number of lobbyists, and the government, the georgian government here, as being rather dishonest about the uses of the law. the uses of the law. now, georgia the uses of the law. now, georgia has the uses of the law. now, georgia has also - the uses of the law. now, georgia has also applied i the uses of the law. now, | georgia has also applied to join the eu and also nato block. do you think there new bill will impact that at all? i think the eu has made quite clear it is going to impact that process, because these types of laws have been ruled as incompatible with european human rights standards. by the european court of human rights. so the eu has a ready made it clear that this law is a serious problem, and that s a problem, it should be a problem for the georgian government, because between 70 and 80% of the georgian public support close integration with the eu,
I am here, along with all these people, to guarantee that there will never be a russian rule here, ever. on the international stage, georgia s authorities said they want to join the eu, but their actions back at home speak louder than their words abroad. this could be georgia s midan moment the first stirrings of mass unrest against the government that appears increasingly out of sync with its own population. and we ll speak to human rights watch later in the programme for their take on the situation in georgia. but situation in georgia. for now to the us. the usjustice department has delivered a damning indictment of louisville police department over the fatal shooting of breonna taylor who was shot dead by police during a raid on her home in 2020. an investigation by thejustice department has concluded that the police department in louisville routinely discriminated against black