TBILISI -- Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has vetoed the so-called foreign agent bill targeting media and NGOs that are funded by foreign governments following weeks of mass protests by Georgians who see the bill as endangering the country's path toward EU integration.
The law would require media and NGOs to register as "pursuing the interests of a foreign power" if they receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.
Zurabishvili said earlier in the week that she considered the law "unacceptable."
Zurabishvili, who has increasingly feuded with the ruling Georgian Dream party since it endorsed her candidacy in 2018, previously expressed her intention to veto the bill, which was approved by parliament on May 14.
Protesters rally outside Tbilisi State University on May 17.
She said earlier in the week that she considered the law "unacceptable" and "not consistent" with the country's path toward integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions. She also warned that the law endangers the very existence of the Georgian state.
Zurabishvili said the Georgian Dream party together with several opposition members of parliament voted through the legislation in defiance of protesters who oppose any shift away from a pro-Western course back toward Russia.
The Law On Transparency Of Foreign Influence has been condemned by the United States, the European Union, and rights watchdogs, and prompted weeks of protests that were repeatedly cracked down on violently by authorities.
Opponents have pointed to the similarity to legislation used by President Vladimir Putin to crush dissent in Russia and stifle independent institutions, prompting Georgians to refer to the measure as "the Russian law."
Zurabishvili used that description in a briefing after announcing her veto.
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The law is not subject to any change or improvement, she said, adding that the move is simple veto indicating the draft law "should be repealed."
However, Georgian Dream's parliamentary majority will allow it to easily override the presidential veto.
Earlier on May 18 opponents of the law were attacked by Georgian Dream supporters outside Tbilisi State University, where they were waiting for the arrival of Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who teaches a course at the university on Saturdays.
One of the organizers of the rally, Niko Managadze, said a group of people confronted the protesters in front of the university and began to physically attack them.
Managadze told RFE/RL's Echo of the Caucasus that the move was meant to allow Kobakhidze to safely enter the building without having to face the protesters.
"We decided to gather in front of the university and protest, although as you could see, the others have mobilized and came into direct physical contact with us," Managadze said. "There was no adequate reaction from the police. They just stood next to us."
The attackers, who were said to be members of the youth wing of Georgian Dream, came to the university building dressed in black and wearing masks -- apparel similar to that worn by what appeared to be riot police who violently and repeatedly attacked protesters against the law earlier in the week before its adoption.
The incident outside Tbilisi State University came a day after top officials from the ruling party joined senior Orthodox clerics and conservative religious groups in rallies across the country on May 17 to mark a new holiday known as Family Purity Day, including a march in central Tbilisi, the scene of weeks of protests against the bill.
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A procession attended by thousands began at the Holy Trinity Cathedral attended by Kobakhidze, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, who is also Georgian Dream's secretary-general, and parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili.
The attention given by Georgian Dream to the event appeared to be an attempt to tamp down the impact of the weeks of massive protests against the contentious "foreign agent" bill approved by parliament amid the violent crackdown on protesters.
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.
Georgian Dream was founded by Russian-friendly billionaire and ex-Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.