The Georgian Public Defender, Levan Ioseliani, issued a statement concurrently with the third and final reading of the Russian Law, urging parliament to reject its adoption "in this form."
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The Public Defender reiterated that if the aim is to enhance transparency in foreign aid intended for Georgia and accountability of recipient organizations, this objective could be accomplished by amending the proposed draft law or existing legislation.
The Public Defender emphasizes that all laws adopted by the Georgian Parliament must align with Georgia's European aspirations, should not harm relations with partners, and should not impede the country's European integration process.
"The title of the draft law, along with several provisions within it, pose issues that could undermine the dignity of those addressed by the law. Furthermore, the project presents the risk of collecting and disclosing significant amounts of personal data about citizens, which could lead to violations of the right to privacy.
It should be noted that the discussion of the draft law is occurring against the backdrop of almost a month-long protest by our citizens.
Based on the points outlined above, the Public Defender reiterates the call to the Parliament to attain transparency objectives by amending the current legislation or the presented draft law. The statement also urges the parliament to refrain from adopting the law of Georgia "On the Transparency of Foreign Influence" in its current form”, Public Defender's statement said.
Despite thousands of ongoing protests and calls from international partners, Georgian Dream decided to approve the Russian Law during today's plenary session.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated that between May 14 and 28, it is possible to reconcile positions regarding the law within the framework of the President's veto procedure.
"We know that Salome Zourabichvili herself does not write her own veto bills. Either NGOs write them for her, or someone writes them from abroad. Therefore, we can use this lever again. It is possible to use the veto procedure to reconcile our positions on this bill. Here, our partners will be forced to present concrete remarks and have them reflected in the president's veto," Kobakhidze said.
Salome Zourabichvili responded to Irakli Kobakhidze, stating that the law is Russian and will remain Russian. "Don't count on me to participate in this game in order to endorse this law," Zurabishvili said.
Both parliamentary and non-parliamentary opposition parties have stated that "this law is not subject to improvement and should be unconditionally withdrawn."
