TBILISI -- Riot police and protesters briefly clashed outside parliament while inside lawmakers traded punches on the legislature floor, as tensions boiled over in Tbilisi after final approval was given to a contentious "foreign agent" bill that has triggered weeks of massive protests by Georgians who regard it as a threat to the country's European integration because it mirrors similar repressive legislation pushed through in Russia.
In the third and final reading on May 14, lawmakers voted 84 to 30 in favor of the law pushed forward by the ruling Georgian Dream party, which has used its control over security forces to violently crack down on protesters using water cannons, tear gas, and rubber bullets.
Ahead of the final vote, scuffles broke out in parliament between Georgian Dream and opposition lawmakers, with television footage showing deputies, men and women, pushing one another and exchanging blows as the angry debate rapidly degenerated.
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Scuffles, Protests As Georgian Lawmakers Adopt 'Foreign Agent' Bill
The brawl inside erupted as thousands of mostly young people pushed forward toward the parliament building. Riot police pushed the crowd back, with several arrests reported.
TV and social media footage showed activist Davit Katsarava being violently detained outside parliament. He was later pictured with serious injuries to his face. Doctors at a Tbilisi clinic said he had suffered a broken clavicle and fractured jaw and undergone surgery.
Davit Katsarava
"I'm Georgian and therefore I'm European," one of the young protesters outside the parliament building told RFE/RL in English, adding, "and we want freedom, that's all. My name is Irakli Beradze, I am a student of Ilia State University, and I'm here protesting against the Russian law, against the Russian[-style] regime and I'm fighting for freedom."
The draft legislation has been condemned by the United States, the European Union, and rights watchdogs for emulating a similar Russian law used by President Vladimir Putin to crush dissent and stifle independent institutions.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien, who is in Tbilisi, said Washington's relationship with the South Caucasus country would be at risk and U.S. aid for Georgia would come under review if the bill officially becomes law.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola praised the protesters, who she said were "dreaming of Europe," while German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also sent a message of solidarity and support to Georgian demonstrators.
"The rule of law, democratic standards, and media freedom are essential for accession to the European Union. And tens of thousands of people in Georgia show that Europe's heart beats not only between Warsaw and Lisbon," Baerbock wrote on Instagram.
The United Nations representative office in Tbilisi warned that the bill's adoption "threatens the freedom of expression" and urged the authorities to investigate the violent treatment of protesters.
Protesters gather at Tbilisi's Heros' Square on May 14.
RFE/RL’s Georgian Service said police started detaining protesters with no warning. The authorities say 13 demonstrators were arrested on May 14.
A photojournalist with the local news agency Interpress News told RFE/RL that he had been slapped and beaten with a baton by police officers.
A female protester who said her name was Irina Iramashvili said the legislation went against Georgia's fundamental law.
"We are here to protest the adoption of this totally anti-constitutional law," Iramashvili told RFE/RL in English.
"Adoption of this law is just an attempt to put Georgia again under full influence of Russia. And I'm sure that we will win...they must listen to the voices of Georgian people, and young, especially young generation. Because we, their parents, will not allow that they grow up in the same regime as us," she said, adding, "We will have no other way but to fight to the end and we should not get tired. Never."
Georgian police arrested 20 people as they violently dispersed a rally outside parliament on May 13.
Video footage shared on social media showed several masked riot police officers taking turns as they violently beat a fallen protester before they apparently detained him.
In another video, a man whose face was bleeding was seen being violently detained by numerous masked men, who beat him and tore off his shirt.
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Fresh Clashes in Tbilisi As Police Detain 20 Protesters
Human rights watchdogs had also urged Georgian Dream to immediately withdraw the bill.
"In advancing this damaging bill, the Georgian government openly supports the repression of human rights and civil society, which has reached alarming levels in recent days," Amnesty International said in a statement on May 14.
A day before the vote, U.S.-based advocacy group Freedom House warned that the bill's adoption would "align Georgia with repressive regimes such as those in Russia and Kyrgyzstan."
SEE ALSO: 'Rubber Bullets And Beatings': Victims, Eyewitnesses Talk Of Violence Against Georgian ProtestersGeorgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has accused the protesters of "following the agenda of the political minority" and charged that they were showing a "great irresponsibility" toward their country.
The massive rallies against the bill are some of the largest protests since Georgia became independent in 1991.
President Salome Zurabishvili, who has come out in support of peaceful protests, has vowed to veto the legislation after it's approved. She has 10 days from when the bill is officially presented to exercise her veto powers.
However, the dominant position of Georgian Dream and its partners in parliament is enough to override the president's veto.
Zurabishvili told CNN on May 14 that given the "monolithic majority" she faces, her veto would be merely "symbolic." She insisted, however, that the only way to "reverse Russian laws" was for pro-European parties to win the general elections in October.
Under the terms of the proposed legislation, media outlets, NGOs, and other nonprofits would be required to register as "pursuing the interests of a foreign power" if more than 20 percent of their funding comes from abroad.