The Internal Affairs Ministry Employees have blocked the Parliament entrances. Allegedly, pepper spray was used against peaceful protesters, resulting in several arrests by force. Citizens are stationed at the entrance from Chichinadze Street, where they discovered the gate welded shut. Special forces and riot police are mobilized in the inner yard of the Parliament. The discussion of the Russian Law is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. in the Legal Affairs Committee.
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A peaceful protest against the Russian Law near the parliament is scheduled to begin at 10:00 p.m. on May 12. Thousands of citizens have spent the night in the streets.
The Internal Affairs Ministry deployed so-called robocops and water jet machines from Freedom Square toward Rustaveli Avenue. In the early morning, the Ministry called on the organizers and participants of the action to clear the entrances of the legislative body, allowing deputies and office staff to enter the parliament building and exercise their parliamentary powers. Otherwise, according to the statement from the Internal Affairs Ministry, the police would have acted within the scope of the powers stipulated by the law and would have ensured the release of the entrances to the Parliament using police forces.
The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association assessed that the police, not the demonstrators, were stationed at the entrances of the Parliament. They stated there was no factual basis for the use of force as announced by the Internal Affairs Ministry.
The ruling Georgian Dream is set to pass the third and final reading of the Russian Law on so-called Foreign Agents today and tomorrow. The law will be discussed and supported at the meeting of the Legal Issues Committee on Monday, with the scheduled plenary session for its approval on Tuesday.
On May 12, the Internal Affairs Minister, Vakhtang Gomelauri, warned citizens that anyone attempting to block the parliament building would be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze asked the police to respond to the planned actions "with a higher standard than the European one.
