Dozens of people have been injured as police efforts to quell mass protests in Georgia turned violent overnight.

Police used tear gas and water cannons to attempt to disperse the crowd that had been building for days outside the parliament building in Tbilisi.

Some protesters were blasted to the ground as police in riot gear directed the water cannons at them.

One woman waved a giant EU flag at authorities as she dodged the stream of water.

Earlier in the day, the crowd had gathered outside parliament, blocking the entrances and chanting “No to Russian law!” “Russians!” “Slaves!”.

Some people had pulled aside light metal barriers intended to keep the public away from the building.

A police report described early protesters throwing Molotov cocktails and stones at authorities.

More than 60 people were arrested, including one of Georgia’s opposition leaders, Zurab Japaridze.

Mr Japaridze’s wife claimed officers had used pepper spray and assaulted her husband on social media.

That claim, as well as others of police abuse of power, is now being investigated by Georgian’s state services.

The Georgian government said 50 police officers had been injured in the clashes.

Thousands of people have been massing for days in the capital of Tbilisi to voice their opposition to a law backed by the government that critics say put Georgia on a Russia-like path to stifled freedom of speech.

On Monday, a fistfight erupted between politicians in Georgia’s parliament over the controversial bill.

The law would require organisations receiving more than 20 per cent of their funding from overseas to register as “foreign agents”, and submit to monitoring by the justice ministry, or face hefty fines.

Critics have compared it to a 2012 Russian law, which has been used to crack down on Russia’s civil society and independent media.

In Russia, the comparative foreign agent law is often used to shut down organisations and news outlets that report voices critical of the government.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said she supported the protesters in a video filmed during an official visit to the US.

“I am standing in New York, and behind me is the Statue of Liberty. This is is a symbol for which Georgia has always fought, for which we have come to this day,” Ms Zourabichvili said.

“Georgia, which sees its future in Europe and will not give anyone the right to take this future. This law must be abolished in any form,” she said.

Russian influence is a loaded subject in Georgia as one fifth of the country’s internationally recognised territory is under occupation by Kremlin-backed separatists.

The proposed law casts fears of an authoritarian shift in Georgia that would endanger the country’s hopes of joining the European Union and NATO.

Georgia applied for membership to the EU in March 2022, and has been given a list of reforms by the bloc to make it eligible to join.

It made its bid for NATO in the 1990s and in 2008 was promised a seat at the table once it met the requirements.

The protests have been likened to the Ukrainian Maidan revolution of 2014, which saw deadly protests following then-president Viktor Yanukovych’s choice to deepen ties with Russia over the EU.

ABC/wires