Council of Europe relieved to see LGBT events were able to take place in Tbilisi

The Council of Europe is relieved to see that in the end events were able to take place in Georgia on May 17 and were protected by the police, says the statement released by the CoE spokesperson Daniel Holtgen today.

The statement was released as an addition to yesterday’s statement on events planned by Georgian LGBTI rights groups to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) which were cancelled due to security concerns. 

"LGBTI people should be able to enjoy the same rights as anyone else. Authorities need to make sure that all citizens, including LGBTI people, can exercise their rights to take part in peaceful demonstrations whilst being protected from violence. We are concerned about prejudice and discrimination against LGBTI people in Georgia, as in many other parts of Europe,” the earlier statement by CoE spokesperson said.

Despite the Equality Movement decided to cancel the planned rally some of the LGBT activists' groups gathered in front of the Chancellery of the Georgian government. Security measures were strengthened during the demonstration also attended by the Deputy Interior Minsiter and head of thr human rights department of the minustry.

Despite the strengthened security measures one of the demonstrator was attacked by one of the citizen who was later arrestwd by the police. 

According to CoE Georgia has been rated by ILGA-Europe as the 33rd out of 49 European countries in terms of rights protection accorded to LGBTI persons.