Georgia's parliament

The speaker of Georgia's parliament said on Monday he signed into law a controversial "foreign influence" bill adopted despite mass protests, Western condemnation and a presidential veto.

Georgia's parliament adopted the divisive law last week, overriding a presidential veto on the measure, which critics say is anti-democratic and mirrors Russian legislation used to silence dissent.

The European Commission on Wednesday slammed Georgia for passing a "foreign influence" law targeting overseas-funded NGOs and for repressing mass protests against it, urging Tbilisi to reverse course.

Thousands of protesters rallied Tuesday in Georgia after parliament adopted a law to brand overseas-funded NGOs as groups under "foreign influence", as the United States warned it will "fundamentally reassess" ties with Tbilisi if it does not withdraw the "Kremlin-style" law.

Scuffles broke out on Tuesday in Georgia's parliament, where lawmakers are expected to adopt a divisive "foreign influence" law criticised by protesters for mirroring Russian legislation used to silence dissent.

Georgia's parliament voted on Wednesday to approve the second reading of a bill on "foreign agents" that has been criticised as Kremlin-inspired, as thousands of protesters opposed to the draft demonstrated on the street outside.

Hundreds of people protested in Georgia on July 12 for a second day in a row, demanding the government of the ex-Soviet nation resign over the death of a journalist who was attacked and beaten by anti-LGBT protesters.

Crowds angry over the visit of a Russian lawmaker tried to storm Georgia's parliament building on June 20 evening, pushing against lines of riot police, throwing bottles and grabbing riot shields from some officers and tearing off their helmets.