Man gets life in prison in killing of transgender model in the South Caucasus nation of Georgia

TBILISI – A antheral was convicted Wednesday of stabbing to decease a transgender histrion and exemplary successful her flat successful Georgia past year, a sidesplitting that shocked the South Caucasus federation and came a time aft lawmakers passed legislation that severely restricted LGBTQ+ rights.

Beka Jaiani, 26, was sentenced to beingness successful situation aft being recovered blameworthy of execution with peculiar cruelty and beating of Kesaria Abramidze, 37.

Jaiani had partially admitted guilt but rejected accusations of peculiar cruelty oregon that determination were gender-based motives for his actions. He was not successful the Tbilisi courtroom for the verdict, saying his intelligence and affectional authorities prevented his being there, but added helium regretted his actions.

His lawyer, Giorgi Mdinaradze, denounced the verdict arsenic “based solely connected motivation considerations alternatively than motivation grounds,” and said helium would entreaty the conviction.

According to media reports, Jaiani and Abramidze were successful a narration for astir 2 years and fought a batch earlier the sidesplitting successful September 2024.

A time aft the killing, dozens of mourners brought flowers and candles to a makeshift memorial successful cardinal Tbilisi to Abramidze, whom members of the LGBTQ+ assemblage praised arsenic a awesome of spot and freedom. Although activists did not nexus the sidesplitting to the transition of the legislation, immoderate feared the caller laws could pb to an summation successful hatred crimes.

Her decease was a chilling reminder of the LGBTQ+ community's vulnerability successful Georgia, a state of 3.7 cardinal radical wherever the Orthodox Church wields important influence, and demonstrations against cheery rights are common.

LGBTQ+ rights were severely curtailed by the laws that banned same-sex marriage, adoptions by same-sex couples and nationalist endorsement and depictions of LGBTQ+ relationships and radical successful the media. The laws besides banned gender-affirming attraction and changing sex designations successful authoritative documents.

The measure was introduced by Georgia Dream, the longtime ruling party, which opponents person accused of steering the state toward Russia’s orbit contempt fashionable sentiment for person ties with Europe.

Georgian Dream was acceptable up by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire who made his luck successful Russia and served concisely arsenic Georgia’s premier curate successful 2012. It promised to reconstruct civilian rights and “reset” relations with Moscow, which fought a little warfare with Georgia successful 2008 implicit the breakaway state of South Ossetia. Russia past recognized the independency of South Ossetia and different breakaway Georgian province, Abkhazia, and established subject bases there.

Russia has besides severely curtailed LGBTQ+ rights successful the past decennary by banning nationalist endorsement of “nontraditional intersexual relations” and adopting laws against gender-affirming care, among different measures. Its Supreme Court effectively outlawed LGBTQ+ activism by labeling what authorities called the LGBTQ+ “movement” operating successful Russia arsenic an extremist enactment and banning it.

The measurement restricting LGBTQ+ rights successful Georgia came soon aft the parliament adopted the “foreign influence” law that critics denounced arsenic borrowed from Moscow’s playbook. The measurement requires media and nongovernmental organizations to registry arsenic “pursuing the interests of a overseas power” if they person much than 20% of their backing from abroad.

That measurement ignited weeks of protests and was wide criticized arsenic threatening antiauthoritarian freedoms and jeopardizing Georgia’s chances of joining the European Union. It formally applied for rank successful 2022, aft Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine, but the bloc halted its accession successful effect to the “foreign influence” instrumentality and froze immoderate of its fiscal support. The United States imposed sanctions connected dozens of Georgian officials successful effect to the law.

With absorption lawmakers boycotting, the Georgian Dream-dominated parliament adopted a instrumentality earlier this period that made not registering arsenic a overseas cause a transgression discourtesy punishable by up to 5 years successful prison, a good of up to $10,000, oregon both. Georgian Dream said the measurement matched the Foreign Agents Registration Act successful the U.S.

Parliament besides adopted amendments to existing laws replacing the connection “gender” with “the equality of women and men.”

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