Georgian police arrested 20 people as they violently dispersed a rally outside parliament early on May 13 as lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party push through the approval of a controversial "foreign agent" law seen by many as a threat to free speech and the country's drive toward the European Union,
RFE/RL's Georgian Service reports.
Two U.S. citizens and a Russian national reportedly were among those arrested outside parliament, although no details about their identities were immediately made public.
Security forces used force to disperse protesters who had staged a nightlong protest outside parliament as lawmakers arrived to debate the bill in a third and final reading. The draft legislation has been condemned by the United States, the EU, and others as mirroring a similar Russian law.
Video footage from RFE/RL shows several masked riot police officers taking turns as they severely beat a fallen protester before they apparently detain him.
In another video, a man whose face is bleeding is being violently detained by numerous masked men who are beating him and tearing off his shirt.
For several weeks, tens of thousands of Georgians have protested against the "foreign agent" bill pushed forward by the ruling Georgian Dream party. The demonstrations have been repressed violently many times with water cannons, tear gas, rubber bullets, while being also attacked by gangs of thugs at night.
Protesters and journalists have shown injuries consistent with the use of rubber bullets, despite denials from officials that such methods have been employed against people on the streets.
