FLASH
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Georgia's parliament has voted 84 votes in favor and 30 against the law on foreign agents, which has sparked violent mass protests for weeks.
Opponents say the legislation is modeled after similar laws in Russia that the Kremlin has used to increasingly silence opposition, civil society and dissenting voices.
Georgia's parliament now has 10 days to send the bill to President Salome Zourabichvili, who has already vowed to veto the bill, but parliament can override her opposition with a simple majority.
Thousands of people gathered outside the Parliament in Tbilisi to protest the decision. The protesters attacked the police guarding the side entrances of the building. The situation has been tense even within the Parliament, with physical and verbal clashes between pro-government and opposition MPs.
The opposition calls it the 'Russian law' as Moscow uses similar legislation to crack down on independent media, non-governmental organizations and activists critical of the Kremlin. Opposition MPs have physically clashed with those of the majority, degenerating into serious violence, as they were trying to block the work of the session.
The approved bill could trigger violent protests in the coming days, which could determine whether Georgia stays on the path to integration with Europe.
Those in power in Georgia are trying to turn the country's upcoming elections into a "Russian-style" event, a former diplomat has said.
Speaking to Sky News, Vasil Sikharulidze, Georgia's former ambassador to the US, said the government is trying to undermine every single institution that could guarantee a fair election in October.
One protester said about 300 people have been arrested in the past month or so. "Today is such a black day for Georgia. It's a very tense situation right now on the streets of Tbilisi," says Katie Shoshishvili.
"This is something we have been experiencing for about a month. We have an estimate of about 300 people arrested so far, and many people have been severely beaten," she added.
Its passage would require organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence, imposing tough requirements such as punitive fines for those who violate them. The United States, Britain, Germany, Italy and France have for weeks asked Georgia to withdraw the bill as it violates freedom of speech.
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