Eka Gigauri is used to harsh words from officials about the anti-corruption work she does in Georgia. But seeing her face on posters accusing her of foreign influence, treason and spying upset her.

Gigauri, who leads one of Georgia’s leading anti-corruption groups, says she and many others are being targeted by a new law rushed through parliament by the government.

The “foreign influence” law requires media, civil society groups and nonprofits to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad. It also subjects them to intense state control and imposes heavy fines for non-compliance.

The government claims the law is needed to clamp down on harmful foreign actors trying to destabilize the South Caucasus of 3.7 million people. Many journalists and activists say its real purpose is to stigmatize them and limit debate ahead of elections scheduled for October. It could also threaten Georgia’s bid to join the European Union.

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This story, made possible with support from the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, is part of an ongoing Associated Press series on threats to democracy in Europe.

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The law is similar to similar legislation in Russia, where it has been used to crack down on opposition figures, independent media and human rights activists. Georgian Dream, the country’s ruling party, pushed the legislation through on a second attempt.

In 2012, after years of turbulence, Georgian Dream came to power. The party was founded by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shady billionaire who made his fortune in Russia and briefly served as Georgia’s prime minister. He has remained out of public view since 2013.

Georgian Dream promised to restore civil rights and “reset” relations with Moscow. It also pledged to pursue EU membership and ties with the US, reassuring Georgians who looked to the West for protection from their overbearing northern neighbor.

In August 2008, Russia fought a brief war with Georgia, which had made a failed attempt to regain control of the breakaway province of South Ossetia. Moscow recognized the independence of South Ossetia and another breakaway Georgian province, Abkhazia, and established military bases there.

In 2022, following Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, Georgia formally applied to join the EU. Support for EU membership was already high, but after the invasion, polls showed that around 74% of Georgians were in favor.

Many in Georgia, with its long history of Moscow’s rule, supported Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion. But the Georgian government refrained from imposing sanctions on Russia, banned dozens of Kremlin critics from entering the country and accused the West of trying to drag Tbilisi into open conflict with Moscow.

Almost exactly a year later, Georgian Dream first introduced the “foreign influence” bill to parliament. Weeks of demonstrations followed, with police using tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters.

The EU made it clear that the bill, if passed, would harm Georgia’s membership prospects. In March 2023, the draft legislation was withdrawn. In December, the EU offered Georgia official candidate status, despite concerns over the rule of law.

In April 2024, Georgian Dream brought the bill back to parliament and protesters returned to the streets. Georgia’s pro-EU president Salome Zourabichvili vetoed it, but parliament overrode her by a simple majority and the bill became law.

Human rights advocates see the law as an existential threat.

“By labeling independent groups and media as serving foreign interests, they (Georgia’s leaders) are attempting to marginalize and suppress critical voices within the country that are essential to a functioning democracy,” said Hugh Williamson of the advocacy group Human Rights Watch.

The day after the bill was passed, Georgian Dream submitted a proposal to ban media images of same-sex relationships and public gatherings that encourage such relationships.

Tamar Jakeli, leader of the prominent LGBTQ+ rights group Tbilisi Pride, argues that both initiatives are part of a broader strategy by the ruling party to divide society.

“The West, the opposition, LGBT people and civil society – we are all being demonized together because we spread LGBT propaganda, want to impose a Western lifestyle and erase Georgian traditions,” said Jakeli, who moved for security reasons and carries pepper spray when he goes out.

Like the “foreign influence” law, the proposed anti-LGBTQ+ provisions mirror Russian law. For months, rumors have circulated that Georgian Dream might collaborate with the Kremlin — something the party vehemently denies.

“The evidence that Russia is the power behind Ivanishvili — and the Georgian Dream — is, at this point, circumstantial. But it is compelling nonetheless,” James Nixey, director of Russia and Eurasia at the London-based think tank Chatham House, wrote in a May analysis.

Georgia’s pro-government media has been steadily spreading fear, warning of alleged Western attempts to destabilize Tbilisi and fuel conflict with Moscow.

In an April 29 speech that stunned Tbilisi’s EU partners, Ivanishvili claimed that a “global war party” was secretly funneling money into Georgia through nonprofit organizations to overthrow the government and turn Georgians into “cannon fodder” in a war with Russia.

Maka Bochorishvili, a Georgian Dream lawmaker who heads the parliamentary committee on EU integration, told The Associated Press that the law on “foreign influence” should ensure transparency.

She argued, without providing evidence, that some nonprofits are supporting “unconstitutional means of government change in Georgia” and that some of them are beginning to resemble political parties as the election approaches.

Most of the organizations targeted by the new law are not prominent or influential. Large groups like Gigauri’s Transparency International will face the same level of scrutiny as small news organizations.

None of the journalists and campaigners who spoke to AP said their organizations would voluntarily join the “foreign influence” register. Gigauri called the decision “a matter of dignity.”

“First of all, we are citizens and patriots of this country,” she said.

But the law means that officials can register their publications and organizations anyway. It also allows the Georgia Department of Justice to conduct detailed audits, with laptops and other equipment seized for months.

Nino Bakradze, who has been investigating secret offshore companies, corruption and the impact of major foreign investment projects on Georgians for years through his investigative publication iFact.ge, says this would effectively bring it to a halt.

Seizing the equipment could also give authorities access to sensitive data about the organizations’ staff, sources, whistleblowers, and those who ask them for help. In a country where far-right groups still attack Pride marches, this is particularly worrying for LGBTQ+ rights groups like Jakeli’s, many of which have received foreign funding.

Tbilisi’s modernization in recent decades and an increasingly active population suggest that democracy can succeed in former Soviet states too, but pose a threat to the Kremlin and other regional autocrats.

Georgia faces its next big test in October: parliamentary elections. Zaza Bibilashvili, an analyst at the Chavchavadze Center, a civil society group, said there is little hope for a meaningful vote if the “foreign influence” law is applied.

Like others, he described an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. Opposition figures have suffered serious injuries that they blame on beatings by police or pro-government gangs. Gia Japaridze, a university lecturer and brother of a prominent opposition politician, told AP that his attackers openly admitted that he was targeted because of his criticism of the “foreign influence” law.

“Right now we still have a civil society that is trying to survive. By October, we probably won’t have any of that anymore. People will have been arrested (or) expelled,” Bibilashvili argued.

In Tbilisi, protests against the foreign influence law have become less frequent as campaigners turn their attention to the upcoming elections. But many still take comfort in the spirit of the rallies that drew Georgians of all ages and backgrounds.

“I have never seen Georgian society so united,” said Giorgi Kikonishvili, an LGBTQ+ activist and club promoter in Tbilisi.

“The situation is devastating right now, but at the same time it’s also very beautiful to see,” he said.

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