Georgia to pass law prohibiting protesters cover their faces at rallies
- 8 December, 11:01
The Georgian Parliament will pass a law prohibiting demonstrators covering faces at rallies with masks or various items of clothing, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced on Sunday as nationwide anti-government protests entered the eleventh day.
"We will adopt a law according to which it will be prohibited at meetings, by participants of the meeting, including counter-protesters, to cover their faces with various means," Kobakhidze said at a briefing. The law is expected to come into force in late December.
The decision comes after a group of unidentified, masked individuals attacked crew of the opposition TV channel Pirveli’s show “Nodar Meladzis Shabati” during a pro-EU demonstration on Tbilisi’s Rustaveli avenue on Saturday. Two crew members received visible head injuries during the attack. Pirveli TV described the masked assailants as “titushki” Ukrainian slang used to describe plainclothes security forces used to attack government critics. The attackers first used what reportedly appeared to be pepper spray in the direction of the crew.
Special Investigation Service said it launched an investigation into the attack. However Pirveli TV reported that several hours after the attack no police or SIS personnel were seen on the crime scene.
Mass rallies are being held for the second week in Georgia against the government’s decision to halt Tbilisi’s EU integration process.
