Transgender influencer stabbed to death in Georgia

Popular Georgian transgender woman was stabbed to death in her apartment on Wednesday, authorities said, in a “premeditated” attack that came amid criticism of a government crackdown on LGBTQ rights.

The Caucasus nation’s ruling Georgian Dream party has advanced a “family values” bill that has been compared to Russia’s “gay propaganda” law and criticised by the European Union and rights groups as stigmatising LGBTQ people.

Actress, influencer and model Kesaria Abramidze was killed in a knife attack on Wednesday — the day after the bill passed its third and final reading — the interior ministry said Thursday.

Abramidze, 37, was the first person in Georgia to publicly come out as transgender. She represented the country at the Miss Trans Star International contest in 2018 and had more than 500,000 followers on Instagram.

The interior ministry said she suffered “multiple stab wounds” and that it was investigating a “premeditated murder committed with particular cruelty and aggravating circumstances on gender grounds.”

Police have arrested a suspect, identified by Georgian media as Abramidze’s boyfriend.

The murder has shocked parts of the Black Sea country, which has been rocked by major protests and political tensions for months.

Equality Movement, an LGBTQ rights organisation in Georgia, condemned the murder in a post on social media platform X.

“This is a wake-up call for Georgia. We must end intolerance and protect the lives of our community,” it said.

– ‘Horrific murder’ –

Critics, including the EU, have accused Georgian Dream of pushing an anti-Western, anti-liberal agenda ahead of crucial elections next month.

Abramidze herself had previously criticised the government’s approach to domestic violence and women’s rights.

In April she said she was forced to temporarily flee abroad, fearing for her life after attacks from a former partner.

“No to the femicide that has become so frequent in our country!” she said.

Georgia’s own rights ombudsman said in 2022 that “LGBT+ people face persistent discrimination and violence in all spheres of life.”

The latest measures, which need to be signed into law by Zurabishvili or the parliament’s speaker, “concern restricting, in educational institutions and TV broadcasts, the propaganda of same-sex relationships and incest.”

Rights groups have criticised the wording for putting homosexual relations on a par with incest.

It also bans gender transition, and adoptions by gay and transgender people, and nullifies same-sex marriages performed abroad.

Brussels has said the bill “undermines fundamental rights of Georgians and risks further stigmatisation and discrimination of part of the population.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts

Foreign News

Military Confirms Emergence Of New Terror Group In North-West

The military also declared nine terrorists wanted for their roles in the security challenges bedevilling the nation. Major General Edward Buba addressing a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, November 7, 2024. The Defence Headquarters has confirmed the emergence of a new terror group known as ‘Lukarawas’ in the Northwestern states of Sokoto and Kebbi. […]

Read More
Foreign News

Kamala Harris finally concedes election to Donald Trump as she calls to congratulate him

Kamala Harris has finally phoned Donald Trump to concede the election, hours after her devastating defeat was confirmed. During their conversation, Harris discussed with Trump the importance of a peaceful transfer of power and being a president for all Americans, a senior Harris aide said, confirming that Harris will deliver remarks in Washington later Wednesday. ‘She discussed […]

Read More
Foreign News

Osama bin Laden’s son, Omar, ordered to leave France

(FILES) Saudi painter Omar bin Laden, the fourth-eldest son of former Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, poses during an exhibition of some thirty of his artworks at the “Arielle Brocante”, in Le Teilleul, western France, on July 1, 2022. – Saudi painter Omar Bin Laden, has been given an administrative ban from French territory by […]

Read More