Tbilisi: Police teargas crowds in second day of protests outside Georgia's parliament
Georgian producer working with ITV News Masha Lomashvili reports from the scene of protests in Tbilisi, after she was teargassed alongside the crowds of demonstrators
Tear gas and water cannons have been used by police in Georgia for a second night to disperse a protest against a draft law some say could stifle media freedom and civil society.
Authorities broke up groups of demonstrators in the capital, Tbilisi, on Wednesday, one day after lawmakers approved the first reading of the proposed law.
On Tuesday, some 60 protestors were arrested by police, with others suffering injuries as crowds were separated.
The legislation, if it passes, would require media and non-governmental organisations, which receive more than 20% of their funding from foreign sources, to register as "agents of foreign influence".
Georgian producer Masha Lomashvili, working with ITV News, was among the crowds teargassed as she covered the demonstration.Speaking afterwards and still at the scene late Wednesday night, she said: "The police have used tear gas and water cannons in order to disperse the crowds. People have now separated into smaller groups and are protesting around the city. "We don’t yet know how many people have been detained today, but we know that the number from yesterday is reaching 60 people.”
Watch ITV News international affairs editor Rageh Omaar's report on the unrest in Tbilisi
Russia enacted a similar law in 2012 to censor critics of the government.
Opponents view the law as potentially obstructive to Georgia's stated intention of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the European Union (EU) one day.
Protest leaders have called for demonstrators to prevent parliament members from returning to the building until the measure is withdrawn.
Further discussions on the law were due to take place on Thursday, but local media reported that the debate has been suspended.
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Shalva Papuashvili, Georgia's Parliament Speaker, has asked for the measure to be assessed by the Vienna Commission on constitutional law of the Council of Europe - the continent's leading human rights body.
While Georgia’s president, Salome Zurabishvili, has said she would veto the bill, its authors say it's needed for the transparency of the work of entities financed by representatives of foreign states.
Georgia's Parliament has the power to override presidential vetoes.