<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/19/georgia-trans-model-kesaria-abramidze-murdered-parliament-passes-anti-lgbtq-law>
"A well-known Georgian transgender model has been murdered, local officials
said, a day after the government passed legislation that will impose sweeping
curbs on LGBTQ+ rights in the country.
Georgia’s interior ministry said Kesaria Abramidze, 37, was believed to have
been stabbed to death in her apartment in suburban Tbilisi on Wednesday.
Georgian media later reported that a man had been arrested in connection with
the crime.
Abramidze was one of the country’s first openly trans public figures. Her death
follows controversial legislation on “family values and the protection of
minors” that will allow officials to outlaw Pride events and censor films and
books.
The law, which was approved by the Georgian parliament on Tuesday in its third
and final reading, includes bans on same-sex marriages and gender-affirming
treatments. It is expected to be another point of contention between Georgia
and the EU as the country seeks to join the bloc.
Critics argue that the bill, initially introduced by the ruling Georgian Dream
party in the summer, mirrors laws enacted in neighbouring Russia, where
authorities have implemented a series of repressive anti-LGBTQ+ measures over
the past decade.
Although the motive behind Abramidze’s murder remains unclear, her death was
swiftly cast by Georgian civil society as part of a state campaign against
minorities in the country.
Under the Georgian Dream party, which has taken an increasingly anti-liberal
stance, the country has seen a rise in violence against LGBTQ+ people.
Last year, hundreds of opponents of gay rights stormed an LGBTQ+ festival in
Tbilisi, forcing the event to be cancelled. This year, tens of thousands of
people marched in the capital to promote “traditional family values” at an
event attended by the ruling party amd the deeply conservative and influential
Orthodox church.
“There is a direct correlation between the use of hate speech in politics and
hate crimes,” the Social Justice Center, a Tbilisi-based human rights group,
said in its statement reacting to the murder.
“It has been almost a year that the Georgian Dream government has been
aggressively using homo/bi/transphobic language and cultivating it with mass
propaganda means,” it added."
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
