WATCH: Politician Punched plus Chaotic Brawl Inside Georgian Parliament

On Monday, thousands of Georgians took to the streets in protest, while inside the parliament, chaos ensued among lawmakers over a bill regarding “foreign agents”, criticised by both Western and domestic observers as being inspired by Russia.

Television broadcasts show Mamuka Mdinaradze, the leader of Georgian Dream’s parliamentary faction being punched by opposition MP Aleko Elisashvili as he spoke in parliament. The punch led to a brawl among lawmakers, causing the television broadcast to be cut.

Watch the now-viral incident below:

Outside the Soviet-era parliament building, over 5,000 demonstrators gathered, demanding the government retract the proposed legislation. The controversial bill mandates organisations receiving foreign funding to register as foreign agents or face penalties.

Detractors within Georgia refer to it as “the Russian law”, likening it to measures employed by the Kremlin to suppress dissent.

Despite opposition, the ruling Georgian Dream party and its allies, controlling the parliament’s legal affairs committee, endorsed the bill. Protesters, met by police cordons and water cannons, voiced their disapproval with chants of “Russians! Russians!”

The Interior Ministry reported 14 protesters detained and one police officer injured due to public order disturbances. Tornike, a 24-year-old activist, expressed determination, stating, “I hope we push hard enough to get this law out of the parliament. But if they don’t do it, I think we have to push hard enough to get rid of this government.”

Amidst organisers calling for further protests, President Salome Zourabichvili, though largely ceremonial, voiced support for demonstrators, denouncing any hint of “resovietisation”. The bill’s reintroduction by the Georgian Dream party, led by influential figure Bidzina Ivanishvili, has reignited tensions after its shelving last year following public outcry.