Tbilisi City Court (/court.ge)
A Georgian politician who used a homophobic slur against a queer rights activist on TV has been issued a symbolic fine of ₾1 ($0.37) by Tbilisi City Court. While the ruling set a precedent as the first time a fine has been issued on these grounds, the plaintiff, Levan Berianidze, said the ruling could give the green light for others to express homophobic hate.
Queer rights groups on 17 May 2018 (Mari Nikuradze/OC Media)
A new survey from CRRC-Georgia suggests there is a gap between the perception and reality of intolerance in Georgia. [Read more…]
Khabib Nurmagomedov, Egor Kreed, and Timati (aif.ru)
The cancellation of a concert by rapper Egor Kreed in Daghestan over online backlash and threats has led to heated debates in local social media. A spat between Kreed and fellow rapper Timati, and Daghestani MMA fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov has put freedom of expression and religion in Daghestan into the spotlight.
Guram Kashia against the backdrop of anti-queer protesters (Background photo: Giorgi Gogua /Liberali. Front photo: Reuters)
Dato Parulava is a staff writer at OC Media and Liberali.
In the face of abuse and threats over wearing a rainbow armband at a match, Georgia’s football captain, Guram Kashia, has received an unprecedented outpouring of support. Regardless of how much this support means for the queer community, we need to ask whether it is really for them, given that Kashia’s most prominent supporters have avoided mentioning queer people entirely. [Read more…]
(/UEFA)
UEFA has granted the captain of Georgia’s national football team, Guram Kashia, its inaugural #EqualGame award for his ‘courageous public stand for equality’. Last year, Kashia wore a rainbow armband during a game for Dutch team SBV Vitesse, and despite facing heavy backlash in Georgia, made further statements in support of equality.
The authorities’ failure to confront homophobia in Georgian society has perpetuated hate, violence, and emboldened the far right. If the government is truly serious about democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, they must dare to pursue policies based on equality, no matter the political cost.
International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia marked on 17 May 2017 (Mari Nikuradze /OC Media)
Queer rights group the Equality Movement has announced they will not mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia on 17 May, citing security concerns. The decision comes after far-right groups organised large homophobic rallies on 12–13 May and threatened violence against anyone coming out to support queer people. [Read more…]
Women brandishing nettles in a homophobic rally on 17 May 2013 (Mari Nikuradze /OC Media)
Five years after a homophobic riot in Tbilisi, CRRC examines the levels of homophobia in Georgia. [Read more…]
Coverage of the attack on Rustavi 2.
Far-right group the March of Georgians attacked three journalists from Rustavi 2 on Monday afternoon in Tbilisi. The attack was in response to an on-air joke by anchor Giorgi Gabunia about former Georgian Prime Minister, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, his tree-collecting hobby, and Jesus Christ. [Read more…]
(OC Media)
Georgian police have issued a restraining order against the parents of a lesbian woman, after they tried to ‘cure her of lesbianism’, a women’s rights group has said.
