TBILISI -- Georgian opponents of the recently passed "foreign agent" law increasing official scrutiny on outside funding of NGOs and online media gathered late on June 2 for a concert designed to air their grievances and raise funds for those detained in earlier protests.
Demonstrators at the Georgian Musicians For A European Future event in Meidani Square called for "unity" and "ultimate victory" as they denounced the widely criticized legislation, which threatens to stall Georgia's EU drive and dampen relations with the United States.
"Our undefeated unity was born in the battle for a common goal," a video shown at the concert in central Tbilisi stated.
"This unity is the path to the ultimate victory, the future. The authorities illegally seize young people fighting for freedom and impose fines."
The money raised at the event is designed to "help our comrades" who were "punished for their love of Georgia," the video statement said.
Hundreds of people have been arrested during weeks of protests at the ruling Georgian Dream party's reintroduction of what critics call "the Russian law."
The action comes as the clock ticks down toward enactment of the law following a parliamentary override last week of President Salome Zurabishvili's veto.
SEE ALSO: The Next Front In The Battle Over Georgia's 'Foreign Agent' LawSome of the protesters detained during demonstrations countered by tear gas, water cannon, and allegedly rubber bullets that injured opponents and journalists could face years in prison under criminal charges.
Billionaire founder Bidzina Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream party has argued the legislation will increase transparency.
But critics including international rights groups and Western leaders see a threat of the law being used to suppress dissent and target political enemies the way a similar law has been used to jail and muzzle Russian detractors of President Vladimir Putin.
Georgia's opposition United National Movement said on June 1 that its offices in Tbilisi were attacked overnight by dozens of masked men, with glass broken and equipment damaged.
It alleged that the damage was inflicted by 30-40 "titushky," a term for the frequently masked thugs who have beaten and harassed protesters since Georgian Dream announced in March that it was reintroducing the bill.
The law requires any media outlet or NGO that gets more than 20 percent of its funding from abroad to register or face fines, although such groups must already disclose their funding to the state.
Domestic and international critics say the law leaves Georgians more vulnerable to Russian influence as Georgian Dream seemingly rebuffs democratic reforms and increasingly finds common cause with Moscow.
Georgia was granted EU candidate status in December but EU officials have repeatedly warned the "foreign influence" law threatens its path toward the 27-member bloc and said they are "considering all options to react."
Washington has announced targeted sanctions and a reassessment of bilateral relations over a law that Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested is aimed at "undermining democracy in Georgia."
Prime Minister and Georgian Dream Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze, who along with Ivanishvili and other allies has blamed opposition to the bill in part on a vague "global party of war," said on May 31 he had called for a review of relations with the United States.
Zurabishvili and other opponents have called on Georgians to direct their anger toward Georgian Dream in looming October elections.
Some NGOs have vowed not to register and say they will pursue legal challenges to the law as it is implemented.