TBILISI -- Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has continued to defend the "foreign agent" legislation that has sparked mass protests in Tbilisi, saying it is necessary to achieve "depolarization," in keeping with recommendations by the European Union.

Kobakhidze said on May 3 that in a conversation with European Council President Charles Michel he relayed his disappointment that Georgia's partners were "reluctant to engage in substantive discussions" on the bill and that "we have not yet heard any counterarguments against this proposed legislation."

The draft law, which would require civil-society organizations and media outlets to report foreign funding and subject them to government oversight, has sparked mass protests in the Georgian capital.

On May 3, tensions remained high in Tbilisi in a standoff that has seen security forces use force, including the use of rubber bullets, to crack down on protesters.

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Victims, Witnesses Describe 'Premeditated' Attack On Georgian Protesters

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Kobakhidze wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the proposed legislation "is solely aimed at promoting transparency and accountability of relevant organizations vis-a-vis Georgian society."

Kobakhidze also repeated allegations of "the active involvement of foreign-funded organizations in two attempted revolutions in Georgia between 2020 and 2023."

In an earlier tweet on May 3, Kobakhidze criticized the United States, one of Georgia's biggest backers, of making "false" statements about the legislation.

Kobakhidze also accused former U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan, who was serving in that position from 2020 to 2023, as well as foreign-funded nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) of allegedly supporting two attempted revolutions.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SEE ALSO:

Georgian PM Slams U.S. Criticism Of Draft Law That Sparked Mass Protests

Michel, in his own X post on May 3, said that in his telephone call with Kobakhidze he had reiterated the European Union's "full support to all Georgians who put [a] European future of their country first."

Georgia is a candidate to join the European Union and has also sought membership in the NATO defense alliance.

"Vibrant debate is a cornerstone, and genuine dialogue is now needed," Michel said. "Georgia's future belongs with the EU. Don't miss this historic chance."

U.S. State Department policy adviser Derek Chollet, who has urged Khobakhidze to withdraw the "foreign agent" bill, said on May 3 that Georgia was at an inflection point, with its Euro-Atlantic aspirations now hanging in the balance.

"There is still room to return to the path the Georgian people want and deserve," Chollet wrote on X.

A wave of anger has washed across Georgia since the ruling Georgian Dream party said it was reintroducing a slightly modified version of the "foreign agent" legislation, which protests forced it to back away from last year.

Since the second reading of the revised legislation was passed on May 1, tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in Tbilisi, leading to dozens of detentions and injuries among demonstrators.

SEE ALSO:

Georgian Protesters Describe Injuries, Beatings Amid Police Crackdown

In at least eight cases on May 1, victims claimed that, in addition to water cannons and tear gas, police also used rubber bullets. RFE/RL gathered eyewitness accounts, photographic evidence of injuries, interviewed three of the injured, and filmed the rubber bullets at the scene where they were reportedly fired.

Tensions remain high. Late on May 3 and early into the morning of May 4, Tbilisi's main Rustaveli Avenue once again appeared blocked, with some protesters holding candles and EU and Georgian flags in the Kashveti Church.

The draft law has been likened to similar legislation in Russia that silences dissent and stifles independent media, and could encompass penalties for still-undefined criminal offenses for NGOs and media that fail to report foreign funding.

A third and final reading of the bill is expected on May 17.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who has distanced herself from the policies of the ruling party, has promised to veto the law if it is formally adopted, as expected. However, Zurabishvili has said the Georgian Dream party has enough votes to override her veto.

Zurabishvili has described the bill as "a Russian law by essence," and said the government was "prone to making concessions to Russia" and was attempting to replicate "the way Russia has managed to really repress the civil society."

Georgia submitted its application to join the European Union in March 2022, shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which like Georgia is a former Soviet republic.

The European Union in December officially granted Georgia candidate status to join the bloc. Polls have suggested that support for EU membership among Georgians last year stood at nearly 90 percent.

Russia invaded Georgia in 2008 in support of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two breakaway Georgian regions that Moscow subsequently recognized as independent states.

Ukraine’s central bank (NBU) on May 3 introduced a package of measures easing currency restrictions for enterprises, the largest such move since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The NBU said the purpose of the changes is "to improve the conditions for doing business in Ukraine and the entry of domestic business into new markets, as well as to support economic recovery and promote the inflow of new investments into the country." Among the moves, the NBU set the abolition of all currency restrictions on the import of works and services and the easing of restrictions on the transfer of foreign currency from representative offices in favor of their parent companies. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.

Democratic U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar of Texas and his wife were indicted on conspiracy and bribery charges on May 3 in connection with a U.S. Department of Justice probe into ties between American business leaders and the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. According to the indictments, Cuellar and his wife between 2014 and 2021 accepted nearly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico. In exchange, Cuellar agreed to advance the interests of the country and the bank in the United States. Among other things, the indictments allege Cuellar agreed to influence legislation favorable to Azerbaijan and deliver a pro-Azerbaijan speech on the floor of the U.S. House. "I want to be clear that both my wife and I are innocent of these allegations," Cuellar said in a statement.

The Russian Justice Ministry on May 3 added the Turkey-based Committee for Ingush Independence to its registry of "undesirable organizations." The committee -- established in January 2023 -- has stated as its goal the independence from Russia of the North Caucasus region of Ingushetia. In January 2024, the ministry labeled the group a "foreign agent." The committee’s activists participated in sessions of the Forum of the Post-Russia's Free Peoples, a group established by activists from Russia's ethnic republics. In March 2023, the forum was also recognized as an "undesirable organization" in Russia. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.

KYIV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy marked the 800th day since Russia’s full-scale invasion, saying “all Ukrainians" and Ukraine’s allies must do everything possible to block the Kremlin’s plans, as authorities said Russian shelling killed at least three people in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

“Today is the 800th day of the war,” Zelenskiy said on May 3 in an address to Ukraine’s border guard personnel.

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“This is an extremely difficult and tough path that our country had to go through, and the path that still needs to be passed to end the war on fair terms, on Ukraine's terms.

“Now we are facing a new stage of the war. The occupier is preparing to try to expand offensive operations," Zelenskiy said.

"Today, all Ukrainians, as well as Ukraine's allies, must do everything possible to thwart Russia's plans," he added.

The Ukrainian leader said that it was important to “prove that the enemy will not achieve its goals under any circumstances and no matter how despicable it acts.”

In Moscow, meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed the Kremlin was ready to consider "serious" proposals to settle the conflict based on existing "realities" and keeping in mind Russia’s security concerns, including a pledge by Kyiv to remain militarily neutral in the future.

The conditions appear to be identical to those repeatedly rejected by Kyiv in the past.

On the battlefield on May 3, authorities in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region said three people were killed and five injured as a result of Russian shelling in the Pokrovsk and Bakhmut districts.

Authorities said a 12-year-old child was among those killed.

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Authorities in Ukraine’s Kirovohrad region said housing an infrastructure sites were hit by a Russian missile strike on May 3, severely injuring one person.

Battlefield claims cannot immediately be verified because of the intense violence in the regions.

Russia has intensified missile attacks on Ukrainian civilian and infrastructure sites in recent months as Ukrainian leaders have pleaded with Western allies to speed up deliveries of air-defense systems and other weapons.

Russia denies that it targets civilian sites, despite widespread evidence of such attacks.

With reporting by Reuters

The United States has "strongly" condemned a series of cyberattacks it says were conducted by a unit of Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) on several countries in Europe, including Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, and the Czech Republic. The State Department in Washington said in a statement on May 3 that APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, was behind the attacks on a variety of targets from defense and aerospace firms to infrastructure operators and political parties. "We call on Russia to stop this malicious activity and abide by its international commitments and obligations," it said.

A military court in Moscow on May 3 extended the pretrial detention until at least October 22 for theater director Yevgenia Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriichuk, who were arrested in May last year on charges of justifying terrorism through the production of the play Finist -- The Brave Falcon. The play is about Russian women who married Muslim men and moved to Syria. Berkovich and Petriichuk maintain their innocence. If convicted, they face up to five years in prison. Their play, first performed in December 2022, won Russia's Golden Mask national theater award. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

Three international human rights organizations have expressed concern over the fate of Suhrob Zafar, the leader of the outlawed opposition Group 24 movement whose whereabouts have been unknown since early March.

Human Rights Watch, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, and the International Partnership for Human Rights on May 3 called on Tajik authorities in a joint statement to "immediately confirm the detention and whereabouts of and release" Zafar, who was "forcibly disappeared” while in Turkey despite holding official UNHCR asylum seeker status there.

The statement cited unnamed sources as saying the Tajik State Committee for National Security is holding Zafar in its detention center in Dushanbe, "periodically torturing him, and [denying] him medical assistance."

The Tajik government has not confirmed whether he is in state custody or if it knows of his whereabouts.

SEE ALSO:

Tajikistan Advises Citizens To Avoid Traveling To Russia

"There are devastating reports that Suhrob Zafar may already have lost his ability to walk as a result of torture, so prompt action could be a matter of life and death," said Syinat Sultanalieva, Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch.

"Tajik authorities should immediately verify Zafar’s detention status and whereabouts and urgently investigate allegations that he has been tortured."

Authorities should also ensure and confirm that Zafar's legal rights are respected, the rights groups said, including contact with his family, access to a lawyer of his own choosing, and necessary medical treatment.

Another member of the Group 24, Nasimjon Sharifov, went missing in late February while residing in Turkey.

Dozens of Tajik activists have been imprisoned for being members of the Group 24 movement in recent years.

Group 24 was labeled as terrorist and extremist and banned in the tightly controlled former Soviet republic in 2014. In March 2015, the movement's founder, businessman Umarali Quvatov, was assassinated in Istanbul.

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, who has run the Central Asian nation for almost 30 years, has been criticized by international human rights groups over his administration's alleged disregard for independent media, religious freedoms, civil society, and political pluralism.

The Kazakh Prosecutor-General's Office said on May 3 that a court in Astana had ruled that former Interior Minister Erlan Turghymbaev, who was detained this week on a charge of abuse of office and power, must stay in pretrial detention for at least two months. Turghymbaev's detention is linked to nationwide anti-government demonstrations in 2022 that turned deadly after police and security forces opened fire at protesters. Several former top officials in the tightly controlled Central Asian nation were sentenced to lengthy prison terms following the protests that left at least 238 people, including 19 law enforcement officers, dead. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

A Pakistani journalist and two other people were killed in car-bomb blast on May 2 in the Khuzdar district of southwestern Balochistan Province, 400 kilometers west of the provincial capital, Quetta. A police official told Radio Mashaal that the attack targeted Maulana Sediqullah Mengal, president of Khuzdar Press Club and member of a religious political party. CCTV footage showed a man riding a motorcycle alongside Mengal's car and attaching something to it then speeding off before the car explodes. No group has claimed responsibility. Reporters Without Borders once ranked Khuzdar as one of the world's top 10 most dangerous places for journalists. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal, click here.

TBILISI -- Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has come out swinging against one of his nation’s biggest backers, accusing the United States of making "false" statements over the controversial "foreign agent" law being pushed through parliament.

In his May 3 tweet, Kobakhidze also accused the former U.S. ambassador to Georgia from 2020-23, Kelly Degnan, as well as foreign-funded NGOs of supporting two attempted revolutions.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"It requires a special effort to restart [bilateral] relations against this background, which is impossible without a fair and honest approach," said Kobakhidze, a member of Georgian Dream, the ruling party accused by opponents of being partial to Russia.

SEE ALSO:

Georgian Protesters Describe Injuries, Beatings Amid Police Crackdown

The United States has stood up for Georgian independence and territorial integrity since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, allocating more than $6 billion in aid over that period -- from helping small business and diversifying the economy to strengthening the rule of law and democracy. It has also fervently backed Georgia's integration into Western institutions, including the EU.

William Courtney, the U.S. ambassador to Georgia from 1995-97, said that what he called the "hijacking" of Georgia's government by Georgian Dream, a party founded by a billionaire who made his money in Russia, is straining Tbilisi's relations with the United States and the West in general.

"Georgian Dream is trying to take Georgia in the direction of being a Russian satellite like Belarus," he said. "Kobakhidze has been and seems to remain one of the most ardent Georgian proponents of an autocratic future for the country."

Courtney said Kobakhidze's accusation against Degnan and NGOs is a page of the book of authoritarian leaders Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

• RFE/RL's Georgian Service

The European Union and the United States have condemned the controversial "foreign agent" legislation making its way through Georgia's parliament as peaceful protests against the bill continued on May 2 in Tbilisi following violent clashes that shook the country.

Kobakhidze published his tweet following talks with Derek Chollet, the State Department's policy adviser, on May 2. The United States and the EU have been calling on Georgia to withdraw its "foreign agent" law, which is seen mimicking the repressive legislation pushed through by Putin.

The law requires civil-society organizations and media outlets that get foreign funding to report that fact to local authorities and submit to oversight that could encompass sanctions for as-yet-undefined criminal offenses. The debate over the bill comes ahead of elections in October.

The legislation advanced this week through parliament to a third and final reading expected on May 17, sparking tens of thousands of people to take to the streets in protest. Dozens have been detained and many have been injured.

"Georgian Dream may fear defeat in any free and fair election, hence it likely views the foreign agent law as a way to eliminate independent civil society organizations which it believes oppose it prior to the election," said Courtney, an adjunct senior fellow at the Washington-based Rand Corporation think tank.

Nicholas Lokker, an analyst at the Center for a New American Security, says the introduction of the bill is a sign the Georgian Dream government is trying to maintain good ties with the Kremlin.

"I'm sure there's some element of not wanting to antagonize Moscow very much at the moment. They are worried about the potential security implications" of integrating with the EU, he said.

Russia maintains thousands of troops in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two breakaway Georgian regions that Moscow recognized as independent states following a five-day war with Georgia in 2008.

The EU in December granted candidate status to Georgia and there had been some hope that the bloc would agree to the next stage of accession talks as early as this year. Lokker says the passage of the bill could stall further progress on EU accession.

"If this law passes, it severely jeopardizes the chances of [accession] occurring, given that it does require unanimity within the European Union, and a lot of EU member states, I think, would be hesitant to do that after this bill," Lokker said.

Courtney says passage of the bill could lead to a cut in U.S. aid, saying some of the civil society organizations currently supported by Washington could be shut down.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which funds about three dozen programs in Georgia, rejected accusations that it was somehow involved in supporting revolutions in the country. USAID, which began supporting Georgia in 1992, currently allocates more than $70 million a year for the various projects.

"All of our assistance throughout these 32 years has been to advance our mutually shared goals of advancing Georgia's security, stability, prosperity, and Euro-Atlantic integration," it said in a statement to RFE/RL, adding that farmers, teachers, and small-business owners had been helped by programs is supports.

"USAID is in regular contact with our government of Georgia counterparts about our programs. Everything that we've done in Georgia has been in partnership with its people, and we will continue to stand in support of their vision for the future."

With reporting by Todd Prince in Washington

A global human rights coalition has urged Uzbek authorities to thoroughly investigate an attempt to intimidate noted activist Umida Niyazova and her associate.

In a May 2 statement, the Cotton Campaign said Niyazova, the founder and director of the Uzbek Forum for Human Rights, and journalist Sharifa Madrahimova had to cut short a planned tour around the Ferghana region to meet with cotton-producing farmers and companies after two men intimidated them on April 18 near Madrahimova's house, accusing Niyazova of "organizing information attacks against Uzbekistan."

"Niyazova and Madrahimova got in their car to avoid further interaction and one of the men held the door to prevent them from closing it and driving away... Fearing for their own safety and that of the farmers and local human rights activists they were planning to meet, Niyazova cut her trip short," the statement said.

One of the men was later identified as a Ferghana resident, Shuhrat Esanov, and it remains unclear how he knew Madrahimova's home address and that Niyazova would be there that morning.

Allison Gill, legal director at Global Labor Justice, which hosts the Cotton Campaign, said that as an independent monitor the forum plays a critical role in ending the systemic state-imposed forced labor of children and adults in the Uzbek cotton sector, a vital sector in the country that accounts for around 17 percent of its total economy.

"Their work is vital to further Uzbekistan's progress toward meeting international standards in its cotton and textile industry," Gill said.

"If Uzbekistan wants to demonstrate its readiness to participate in global supply chains that pay increasing attention to labor rights, it is essential that labor rights monitors and workers can monitor and report on conditions without fear of intimidation, harassment, or surveillance," Gill added.

The Cotton Campaign and the Uzbek Forum for Human Rights ended their campaign to boycott Uzbek cotton and textiles in March 2022, citing progress in eliminating forced labor during crop harvesting in 2021.

The boycott, launched in 2006, was followed by more than 260 apparel manufacturers and retailers globally.

For many years rights groups called on Uzbekistan to eradicate a long-running state-controlled system forcing millions of citizens, including children, to pick cotton to meet harvest quotas.

Kyrgyzstan has advised its citizens to refrain from traveling to Russia in the face of rising scrutiny of Central Asians in the country following the deadly Crocus City Hall attack near Moscow in late March.

The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry issued the travel advisory on May 2, warning Kyrgyz citizens of intensified checks and controls at borders by Russian authorities.

The advisory comes as human rights watchdogs report rising levels of xenophobia against Central Asians in Russia following the terrorist attack on the concert venue, which left 144 people dead and hundreds more injured. Eleven Tajik men and a Kyrgyz-born Russian citizen have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the attack.

The Tajik president's website said on May 3 that the Central Asian nation's leader, Emomali Rahmon, held phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed, among other things, "issues of cooperation in the field of labor migration."

"The heads of the two states also emphasized the close coordination of law enforcement structures and special services in the fight against terrorism, extremism and transnational organized crime, [as well as] the importance of further strengthening of their cooperation," the presidential website said.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said in its statement about the phone talks that the two leaders "expressed hope that recent intensified attempts by certain forces to artificially escalate the situation around work migrants coming to Russia -- including Tajikistan -- be jointly suppressed and will not be able to damage the time-tested brotherly ties between the two nations' peoples."

Earlier this week, the Tajik Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to Dushanbe and handed him a note of protest against the "unfair" treatment of Tajik nationals in Russia since the deadly incident.

Last weekend, the Tajik Foreign Ministry said hundreds of Tajik citizens trying to enter Russia had been stranded in several Moscow airports, including the Vnukovo airport, where, according to the ministry, almost 1,000 Tajik nationals, including students attending Moscow universities, had been held "without proper sanitary conditions."

According to the ministry, the situation was caused by tightened passport and custom controls in the wake of the March 22 attack.

Russian investigators say the assault -- Russia's worst terrorist attack in two decades -- was carried out by four men, all Tajik nationals. The other detainees are being held for aiding and abetting the attackers.

An offshoot of the Islamic State extremist group, the Islamic State-Khorasan group active in Afghanistan and Central Asia, claimed responsibility for the attack. Tajikistan has also detained nine people suspected of having links to the attack.

Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on April 29 that the measures to prevent terrorism that had been tightened in recent weeks do not target citizens of certain nations.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz and Tajik Services

At least 20 people were killed when a bus plunged into a ravine in Pakistan's northern Gilgit-Baltistan region early on May 3, officials said. The bus was on its way from Rawalpindi to Gilgit when the accident occurred. No cause for the accident was immediately established. Gilgit-Baltistan is a remote mountainous region that links the rest of Pakistan with China through the Karakoram Highway. Serious road accidents are common in Pakistan, mainly due to speeding, poor road infrastructure, and use of unfit vehicles. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal, click here.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Joe Biden has called for the release of all imprisoned journalists, including RFE/RL's Alsu Kurmasheva and Evan Gershkovich of The Wall Street Journal, who have been detained in Russia on charges they, their employers, and their supporters reject as politically motivated.

"Journalism should not be a crime anywhere on Earth," Biden said in a statement marking World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

"In Russia, American journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva have been imprisoned in connection with their work for The Wall Street Journal and for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty," Biden said.

Kurmasheva, a Prague-based journalist with RFE/RL who holds dual U.S. and Russian citizenships, has been held in Russian custody since October 18 on a charge of violating the so-called "foreign agent" law, which critics and rights groups say is used by the Kremlin to crack down on any dissent.

Kurmasheva, who is 47, has also been charged with spreading falsehoods about the Russian military and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

RFE/RL and the U.S. government say the charges are a reprisal for her work as journalist for RFE/RL.

Gershkovich has been held in detention since March last year on spying charges both he and the newspaper vehemently deny, saying the 32-year-old was merely doing his job as an accredited reporter when he was arrested.

Moscow has been accused of detaining Americans to use as bargaining chips to exchange for Russians jailed in the United States.

"On World Press Freedom Day, the United States calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all journalists who have been put behind bars for simply doing their jobs," Biden said, also mentioning Austin Tice, an American freelance journalist kidnapped and held in Syria since 2012.

Biden said the U.S. administration will soon announce concrete steps in response to the wrongful detention of journalists worldwide, calling the repression of press freedom a "grave threat" to America's national security.

"I will authorize measures, including sanctions and visa bans, against those who take abusive actions to silence the press," he said. "Today and every day, we recognize their courage, support their right to do their jobs, and stand with them for press freedom."

Russian military intelligence officer Eduard Ulman, who was sentenced in absentia to 14 years in prison for shooting to death six Chechen civilians in 2002, has been killed in the war in Ukraine. The Novaya Buryatia website quoted Ulman's mother and a former leader of a military veterans' group in Siberia on May 3 as saying the 50-year-old was killed fighting against Ukrainian forces. Ulman and two former subordinates have been on Russia's wanted list since 2007 after prosecutors asked a court to convict them of killing civilians during the second Russia-Chechen war and sentenced them to lengthy prison terms. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Caucasus.Realities, click here.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on May 3 that its officers had "liquidated" an agent from Ukraine's military intelligence who had allegedly arrived from Lithuania to carry out "terrorist acts" against military and energy objects in the Moscow and Leningrad regions. The FSB did not disclose the identity of the "saboteur" but said he was a Russian citizen born in 1976. According to the FSB, "during arrest, he offered armed resistance with firearms and was liquidated." Ukraine has yet to comment on the report. To read the original statement from the FSB, click here.

Suppression of press freedom rose over the past year in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where governments with increasingly authoritarian tendencies have followed Russia's example of stifling and punishing free speech, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said.

Highlighting the situation in in its annual media world ranking, published on May 3, RSF noted the worsening media situation in Belarus, where strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka's regime persecutes reporters under the excuse of fighting “extremism”; Georgia, where the government has been pushing "foreign agent" legislation modeled on a Russian law, despite massive public protests; and in Kyrgyzstan.

"Media censorship has intensified in a spectacular mimicry of Russian repressive methods," RSF said.

Belarus dropped 10 positions to 167th in the world, while Georgia, at 103th, fell a whopping 26 places.

RSF said Russia, which ranked 162nd out of 180 countries, has continued its campaign against independent journalism, using the “foreign agent” or “undesirable” legislation to arbitrarily imprison remaining journalists as more than 1,500 have left the country since the start of the war. RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Evan Gershkovich of The Wall Street Journal are currently imprisoned in Russia.

Azerbaijan fell 13 places to 164th mainly due to the authorities' crackdown on the media before its presidential election, RSF said.

The report pointed to the deteriorating situation in Serbia -- down seven positions to 98th place -- as an example of the Kremlin's long reach.

Press outlets affiliated with the pro-Russian government of Serbia relayed Moscow's propaganda, while anti-war Russian journalists who found refuge in Serbia after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine are being threatened with expulsion.

RSF notes as a positive development the 18-place jump made by Ukraine due to what it says are improvements in the security and political indicators. Political interference in Ukraine has fallen, with the country being currently ranked 61st, the report said.

In Eastern Europe, the report notes a "dangerous trend" by some governments to stifle independent journalism, which RSF calls "Orbanization," after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban, in power since 2010, has been accused of muzzling the free press. Hungary is currently in 67th place.

In Slovakia, ranked 29th, the situation is also deteriorating under Russia-friendly Prime Minister Robert Fico, RSF says.

In Central Asia, Turkmenistan, where independent reporting is completely banned, is listed 175th, while Kyrgyzstan is listed 120th.

Afghanistan, where the persecution of journalists has been "incessant" since the return of the Taliban to power in 2021, three journalists were killed and at least 25 were detained over the past year. Afghanistan dropped 26 places to 178th out of a total of 180 countries in the index.

A court in Russia's North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria acquitted a Jehovah's Witness in an extremism case, a rare move by a judiciary that has sentenced dozens of the religion's believers in similar cases.

The Maisky district court found Kirill Gushchin not guilty on May 2, but did not give the reasoning behind its decision.

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Prosecutors sought a seven-year prison term. Since the faith was outlawed in Russia in 2017, many Jehovah's Witnesses have had cases launched against them, with most sentenced to prison.

For decades, Jehovah's Witnesses have been viewed with suspicion in Russia, where the dominant Orthodox Church is championed by President Vladimir Putin.

To read the original story by RFE/RL's Caucasus.Realities, click here.

A military court in Russia's Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk on May 3 sentenced anti-war activist Angel Nikolayev to 15 years in prison on a charge of arson against a military recruitment center, desecration of Russia's national flag, and vandalism. Nikolayev was arrested in July 2023 after he splashed red paint on flags atop the graves of Russian soldiers killed during Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Nikolayev pleaded not guilty to the desecration and terrorism charges. Dozens of activists have been handed prison terms for arson attacks on military recruitment centers since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here.

TBILISI -- Protesters who rallied against the Georgian government's plan to approve a controversial "foreign agent" law say they were beaten by security forces who launched a violent crackdown with water cannons, volleys of tear gas, and, according to some eyewitnesses, rubber bullets.

Tensions remained high as tens of thousands of people returned to the streets late on May 3 as the standoff continued between the government and demonstrators who have been staging mass protests in the center of the South Caucasus country's capital.

Tbilisi's main Rustaveli Avenue once again appeared blocked late on May 3 and early into the morning, with some protesters holding candles and EU and Georgian flags in the Kashveti Church.

Thousands of protesters moved to an area near the Paragraph Hotel, where a meeting of the Asian Development Bank is being held. The hotel is owned by an investment fund controlled by former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, the influential billionaire founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party

At least one person was detained near the hotel for allegedly “insulting” police officers, the head of the Tbilisi Police Patrol told RFE/RL.

Authorities said police had arrested at least 23 people overnight, bringing the total to at least 100 detained over the past three days. The Interior Ministry told RFE/RL that detainees have been accused of administrative offenses, petty hooliganism, and disobeying police officers.

Eyewitnesses, including two injured men, told RFE/RL that what they called "provocateurs" arrived by car around 1 a.m. in Heroes' Square and physically assaulted some of the protesters.

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It was the continuation of days of protests over the proposed law, denounced by opponents as being inspired by similar repressive legislation in Russia that Moscow has used to stifle dissent.

The bill would require organizations receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as "agents of foreign influence." Opponents warn that implementing the law could jeopardize the country's move toward European Union membership.

The bill was passed in a second reading on May 1, followed by a violent crackdown by riot police against demonstrators that ended with some 15 people being hospitalized. A parliamentary session on May 2 was subsequently canceled.

In at least eight cases on May 1, the victims claimed that, in addition to water cannons and tear gas, police also used rubber bullets. RFE/RL gathered eyewitness accounts, photographic evidence of injuries, interviewed three of the injured, and filmed the rubber bullets at the scene where they were reportedly fired.

• RFE/RL's Georgian Service

The European Union and the United States have condemned the controversial "foreign agent" legislation making its way through Georgia's parliament as peaceful protests against the bill continued on May 2 in Tbilisi following violent clashes that shook the country.

Freelance reporter Davit Tamazashvili showed his injuries to RFE/RL on May 2 and recalled the events of the previous night, telling RFE/RL he was adjusting his camera when shooting suddenly started and he felt three bullets hit his legs.

The evidence seen by RFE/RL is consistent with injuries caused by rubber bullets, but Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze denied the use of rubber bullets against demonstrators when he addressed reporters at a press briefing.

Darakhvelidze told reporters early on May 2 that "no rubber bullets" were used by law enforcement officers, "although there were sufficient legal reasons for their use."

Georgia's Special Investigation Service said a probe into excessive force against the demonstrators was ongoing.

Nika Demurishvili, 24, who was hospitalized after protests on May 1, told RFE/RL by phone on May 3 that he was back at home after being hit in the eye by a suspected rubber bullet. He said he was still in pain and unable to open his damaged eye.

"I was wearing an gas mask that also had an eye protector" while attempting to help other protesters who had been knocked down by authorities, he said.

"It was like a rubber bullet hit me. What else could it have been.... I don't know exactly, but if it were a gas cylinder, I wouldn't have been hit directly in the face," he added.

Doctor Vako Lobzhanidze told reporters that "there is a serious injury to the [victim's] right eye, although the eye survived,” adding that it did not appear that surgery would be needed.

Eyewitness Nana Bagalishvili told RFE/RL while on Queen Tamara Avenue that she was “walking home from Heroes Square” when saw “tall men dressed in civilian clothes, likely security personnel or athletes, assaulting a man in a car, where his son, probably under 10 years old, was also present.”

"They attempted to forcibly remove the man from the car and beat him. A woman in the car was also subjected to physical assault," she said, adding that other cars and men dressed similarly in black were "assaulting rally participants of the rally.”

Nikoloz Butkhuzi told RFE/RL through Skype that he “saw four men assaulting a single person who was lying on the ground.”

He said he attempted to aid the fallen person before the men turned their attempt to him.

“They assaulted everyone indiscriminately. It was deliberate and premeditated,” he said.

Not all claims from the streets can immediately be independently verified.

The May 1 demonstration -- one of the largest the country has ever seen -- took place after the legislation was advanced in a second reading. A third and final reading is expected on May 17.

• RFE/RL's Georgian Service

Police in Tbilisi fired tear gas and water cannons at protesters gathered outside Georgia's parliament on May 1 after a controversial "foreign agent" bill advanced in its second reading. The bill has fueled weeks of demonstrations and warnings from Brussels it could jeopardize Georgia's EU hopes.

A large protest against the bill is currently being planned for May 11, one of the organizers told RFE/RL.

“I want you to remember this date. Let’s all organize a very large demonstration on May 11. A large, peaceful, strong, confident manifestation. Put it on your calendars,” the unnamed organizer said.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk voiced concern about the authorities' treatment of protesters. Turk also urged authorities to withdraw the bill and engage in dialogue with civil society and journalists, who risk being affected by the proposed legislation.

"I am concerned by reports of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force by law enforcement personnel against demonstrators and media workers in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, this week," he said.

A wave of anger has washed across Georgia since the ruling Georgian Dream party said it was reintroducing a slightly modified version of legislation that protests forced it to back away from last year.

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Explainer: Why Are Mass Protests Shaking Tbilisi?

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Critics call the bill "the Russian law," a reference to the "foreign agent" law in Russia that the government in Moscow has used to silence its critics. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who has distanced herself from the policies of the ruling party, has promised to veto the law if it is formally adopted in a third reading, as expected.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry on May 2 refused an invitation from the United States to speak directly with U.S. officials, U.S. Ambassador Robin Dunnigan said.

"Recently, we have invited senior members of the Georgian Government to engage directly with the most senior leaders in the United States to discuss our strategic partnership and any concerns with U.S. assistance; unfortunately, the Georgian side chose not to accept this invitation," she said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

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Georgian PM Slams U.S. Criticism Of Draft Law That Sparked Mass Protests

A statement from the Georgian Foreign Ministry said the invitation was rejected because there was a condition that the parliament temporarily stop the discussion of the draft law. This prerequisite "does not correspond to the spirit of partnership," the ministry statement said.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze later accused the United States of making "false" statements over the controversial law, saying Washington's words are similar to previous statements that "encouraged" violence during other times of unrest in the Caucasus nation.

Dunnigan's statement, which also urged Georgia to "recommit the country to its Euro-Atlantic future, as written in Georgia’s constitution," makes no reference to any conditions for holding talks.

Russia will face consequences for a cyberattack allegedly orchestrated last year by a group with ties to its military intelligence, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on May 3. Germany has been among the Western nations providing Ukraine military support in its war with Russia, with President Vladimir Putin saying in December that ties between the two countries are largely frozen. "We can now clearly attribute last year's attack to the Russian group APT28, which is controlled by the Russian military intelligence service GRU," Baerbock told a press conference in Adelaide, Australia.

Russia has been quietly shipping refined petroleum to North Korea at levels that appear to violate a cap imposed by the UN Security Council, the White House said on May 2. The disclosure came after a UN panel of experts monitoring enforcement of long-standing UN sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear weapons and missile programs was disbanded following Russia's veto of its renewal. "At the same time that Moscow vetoed the panel's mandate renewal, Russia has been shipping refined petroleum from Port Vostochny to [North Korea]," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

Russian state-affiliated accounts have boosted their use of TikTok and are getting more engagement on the short-form-video platform ahead of the U.S. presidential election, according to a study published on May 2 by the Washington-based Brookings Institution. The report states that Russia is increasingly leveraging TikTok to disseminate Kremlin messages in both English and Spanish, with state-linked accounts posting far more frequently on the platform than they did two years ago. Such accounts are also active on other social media platforms. However, the report says user engagement has been much higher on TikTok.

Russian energy giant Gazprom said on May 2 it suffered a record annual loss last year as the European market was practically shut off to its gas exports due to sanctions over Moscow's military operation in Ukraine. The state-owned firm suffered a net loss of 629 billion rubles ($6.9 billion) in 2023 compared to a net profit of 1.23 trillion rubles in 2022. The results are an indication of the heavy impact of Western sanctions on Russia following the full-scale military offensive launched in February 2022.