In October 2017, the Austrian government passed a law named the "Prohibition on the Covering of the Face."[14] The law was introduced by the center-left Chancellor Christian Kern.[15] Anyone wearing clothes that obscure their face in public is liable to a fine of €150 and must remove the offending garment “on the spot” if ordered by police.[16] Many activists and experts labeled the law Islamophobic arguing that it discriminated against Muslim women who wore religious face veils.[17] Among the opponents of the law were President Alexander Van der Bellen,[18] Georgetown University senior research fellow Farid Hafez,[14] and Austrian Islamic Religious Authority spokeswoman Carla Amina Baghajati.[19] Face veils in Austria are rare, with about 100-150 Muslim women wearing some type of face covering.[14] Prior to the passing of the ban, thousands of people protested in Vienna in January 2017 to express opposition to the law.[20]