Georgia's parliament passes controversial "foreign agent" law amid protests, widespread criticism

Georgia's parliament has passed a law that critics see as a threat to media freedom and the country's aspirations to join the European Union – and a step toward the kind of draconian laws that have quashed political dissent in neighboring Russia. 

In backing the so-called "foreign agent" law, Georgia's parliamentarians defied weeks of large demonstrations in the capital against the legislation, which also saw thousands of people vent their anger at Russia.

Tens of thousands of protesters shut down a major intersection in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Tuesday, Reuters reported, and protests again on Wednesday gathered outside the parliament.