Popular transgender woman in Georgia killed a day after passage of anti-LGBT bill

A  well-known transgender woman in Georgia, Kesaria Abramidze, 37, was tragically killed in her home just a day after the Georgian parliament passed a significant anti-LGBT bill.

Local officials reported that she was stabbed to death in her flat in Tbilisi on Wednesday.

The interior ministry is treating the case as a “premeditated murder committed with particular cruelty and aggravating circumstances on gender grounds,” and a 26-year-old suspect, known to the victim, has been arrested.

Rights organizations have linked Abramidze’s murder to the recently enacted anti-LGBT law, arguing that the government’s promotion of such legislation has exacerbated transphobic violence.

President Salome Zurabishvili, who opposed the law, condemned the “horrendous murder,” highlighting the urgent need to address hate crimes and discrimination in the country.

The legislation, backed by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s government, imposes severe restrictions on LGBT rights, including bans on same-sex marriage, gender-affirming surgeries, adoption by non-heterosexual couples, and the promotion of same-sex relationships in educational settings.

The bill passed through parliament on Tuesday with an 84-0 vote, despite widespread criticism from rights advocates.

The ruling party claims the “Protection of Family Values and Minors” bill aims to protect a majority of Georgians from “LGBT propaganda.”

Activists assert that the government’s use of homophobic and transphobic rhetoric in advocating for the bill has directly contributed to Abramidze’s death.

A well-known figure in the transgender community, she had represented Georgia in international pageants and boasted over 500,000 social media followers.

The local human rights organization Social Justice Center stated, “Political homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia have become central to the government’s official discourse and ideology,” emphasizing that Abramidze’s killing is part of a larger troubling context.

Internationally, progressive politicians have also linked her death to the government’s legislative actions.

German lawmaker Michael Roth remarked, “Those who sow hatred will reap violence. Kesaria Abramidze was killed just one day after the Georgian parliament passed the anti-LGBTI law.”

European Union officials condemned the legislation upon its passage, noting it jeopardizes Georgia’s aspirations for EU membership.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, called the law a step away from the country’s EU path, asserting that it undermines “fundamental rights” and fosters discrimination.

The British embassy has voiced “serious concerns,” while rights groups liken the Georgian law to similar repressive measures in Russia, with the Washington-based think tank Freedom House stating that the bill is “pulled directly from the Kremlin’s authoritarian playbook.”

Source-BBC