A man has been arrested after Kesaria Abramidze, 37, a Georgian trans model and prominent public figure, was stabbed to death in her apartment in a “premeditated” attack, amid criticism of a government crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights.
The actress and influencer was killed in a knife attack on Wednesday, September 18, a day after a bill supporting “family values” passed its final reading. The law has been compared to Russia’s “gay propaganda” law and criticised by the European Union and rights groups as stigmatising LGBTQ+ people.
Abramidze was the first person in Georgia to publicly come out as trans. She represented the country at the Miss Trans Star International contest in 2018 and had more than 500,000 followers on Instagram.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Thursday, September 19 that she suffered “multiple stab wounds” and it was investigating a “premeditated murder committed with particular cruelty and aggravating circumstances on gender grounds”.
LGBTQ+ communities in Georgia, where the conservative Orthodox Church is highly influential, are under threat after Georgian lawmakers approved the final reading of a law on “family values and the protection of minors” that would provide a legal basis for authorities to outlaw Pride events and public displays of the LGBTQ+ rainbow flag, and to impose censorship of films and books.
Tamara Jakeli, director of campaign group Tbilisi Pride, said the bill, which also restates an existing ban on same-sex marriage and bans gender reassignment surgery, would likely force her organisation to close its doors.
“This law is the most terrible thing to happen to the LGBTQ+ community in Georgia,” Jakeli said. “We will most likely have to shut down. There is no way for us to continue functioning.”
LGBTQ+ rights are a fraught topic in Georgia, where polls show broad disapproval of same-sex relationships, and the constitution bans same-sex marriage. In recent years, participants in Tbilisi’s annual Pride marches have come under physical attack by anti-LGBTQ+ protesters.