TBILISI, May 3. /TASS/. Several hundred protesters against a bill on foreign agents have gathered in front of a hotel in the center of the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, according to a TASS reporter.

That’s a change from previous rallies that took place outside the parliament building. The hotel, which is hosting an annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank, sits about 200 meters from the parliament.

The police have been posted to the scene. They detained one person for verbal abuse of police officers.

Some protesters are marching toward the nearby office of the ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party.

On Wednesday, the Georgian legislature backed the second reading of the bill On Transparency of Foreign Influence which was opposed by Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, the opposition and Western diplomats who regard the legislation as a hurdle to the country’s integration into the European Union. The US State Department said the bill is aimed at undermining the country's vibrant civil society. Leaders of the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party argued that the bill only serves the purpose of ensuring transparency of foreign funding provided to non-governmental organizations and news media.

The ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party announced in early April that it had decided to reintroduce the bill On Transparency of Foreign Influence to parliament. This happened a year after a similar initiative triggered mass protests, forcing the authorities to abandon the bill. Its text remained identical to last year’s, except for the term "agent of foreign influence." Instead, the term "organization promoting the interests of a foreign power" is used. The bill and its passage in the parliament cause regular protests involving clashes with the police.