Georgia Bans Use of Laser Devices, Masks at Protests

On Friday, the Georgian Parliament adopted a new bill in its final reading, prohibiting participants in public gatherings and protests from carrying laser devices or "any equipment emitting sharp beams of light" and banning the use of masks or other face coverings.

The new regulations intend to prevent use of laser devices and other equipment that "may disrupt activities of state representatives or impair the functionality of technical equipment in their use", The Caspian Post reports, citing Georgian media.

Vakhtang Gomelauri, the Interior Minister of the country, will establish a list of individuals who may cover their faces at protests "due to their professional activities", while also determining procedures and conditions for issuing permits to these individuals.

The bill initially aimed to only ban use of pyrotechnics at protests, in a development that follows demonstrators' use of fireworks in the ongoing protests, before the mention of laser devices was added.

The law will come into effect immediately upon its publication in the Legislative Herald of Georgia.