CoE rapporteur on the rights of LGBT people condemns violence in Georgia during Tbilisi Pride week
CoE rapporteur on the rights of LGBT people in the South Caucasus Christophe Lacroix has called on Georgian authorities to prosecute the perpetrators of the violence. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Council of Europe’s rapporteur on the rights of LGBT people in the South Caucasus Christophe Lacroix has condemned the acts of violence which occurred in Georgia during Tbilisi Pride week.
Rapporteur @LacroixCh firmly condemns the acts of violence targeting Tbilisi Pride office, human rights defenders and journalists, and calls on Georgian authorities to prosecute the perpetrators https://t.co/ETKReIpByR @fouratgent @MIAofGeorgia @Ombudsman_Geo @fouratgent
— PACE_Equality (@PACE_Equality) July 6, 2021
In its statement Lacroix notes that nothing can justify the indiscriminate and so far unchecked violence, which undermines Georgia’s democratic institutions and the trust of its citizens in them.
I would like to express my solidarity with those who organise Tbilisi Pride, whose commitment and courage I salute, and with the Georgian media”, said Christophe Lacroix.
Lacroix also notes that the Georgian government must not shrink from its obligation to ensure the safety of its citizens and their ability to exercise freedom of expression and assembly.
Lacroix has called on the authorities to prosecute the perpetrators of the violence.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Kakha Kuchava has raised the European Union flag in front of the Georgian parliament building in the capital city of Tbilisi this morning after violent right-wing groups burnt EU and LGBT flags last night. The groups shut down a ‘silent’ demonstration held outside the Parliament of Georgia yesterday which was meant to protest the violent events of July 5.
The US Department of State has called on Georgian leaders and law enforcement ‘to protect the constitutional right to freedom of expression’ following violent attacks against journalists and civic activists at the Tbilisi Pride counter rally by right-wing protesters on July 5.
State officials, current and former diplomats and media rights organisations have been reacting to the developments in Tbilisi on Monday, where a right-wing demonstration against a planned Tbilisi Pride march for queer rights attacked reporters gathered to cover the eventually cancelled event before also storming offices of Pride organisers.
The Georgian authorities and religious representatives have failed to counter homophobic rhetoric, following violent attacks by right-wing groups against civil activists, community members and journalists in central Tbilisi on July 5, a joint statement of the Members of the European Parliament on the cancellation of the Tbilisi Pride march says.