Police arrest 26 at rally against Tbilisi Pride Week
This year’s edition of Tbilisi Pride Week is organised without a public March for Dignity due to safety concerns, instead opting for a programme involving screenings, a regional conference and a Pride Festival in closed venues. Photo: Interior Minsitry press office
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Police arrested 26 participants of a right-wing rally against the ongoing Tbilisi Pride Week in Tbilisi on Saturday for “disorderly conduct”.
The individuals - including Zurab Makharadze and Irakli Martinenko, two leaders of the Alt-Info right-wing media platform that had announced planned action against the Pride Week - were arrested near the city’s Mtatsminda Park, a location for a closed event for the Pride Week.
Interpressnews said participants of the rally had gathered in anticipation of the planned event in the early hours of Saturday.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs said the arrests had been made for “violation or non-compliance with established civil safety requirements” and “disorderly conduct”.
Alt-Info was involved in last year’s attack on reporters ahead of planned Tbilisi Pride events in Tbilisi, with organisers eventually cancelling the event after the assailants left dozens of reporters injured.
This year’s edition of Tbilisi Pride Week is organised without a public March for Dignity due to safety concerns, instead opting for a programme involving screenings, a regional conference and a Pride Festival in closed venues.
In the run-up to this year’s event the Interior Ministry had said it would ensure safety and freedom of expression and assembly of “each individual”.
The programme for this year’s Tbilisi Pride Week kicked off on Tuesday in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi with a screening of Wet Sand, an award-winning feature by director Elene Naveriani.
Georgian Interior Ministry has launched an investigation into threats issued by the right-wing organisation Alt-Info ahead of the planned Tbilisi Pride Week, organised by the LGBTQ+ community and set to start in the capital on Tuesday, Interpressnews reported on Monday.
The safety and freedom of expression and assembly of “each individual” will be protected during the upcoming Tbilisi Pride Week, Georgia’s Interior Ministry announced on Monday.
Law enforcement will “prevent acts of violence” during the planned Tbilisi Pride Week, Georgia’s Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhveidze said on Wednesday after right-wing organisers from Alt-Info media outlet called for a “disruption” of announced events for marking LGBTQ rights starting later this month.
Georgia’s Interior Ministry on Saturday issued a call for groups opposing the ongoing Tbilisi Pride Week events to abide by the law, and pledged to ensure public order, safety and freedom of expression and assembly of “each individual”.
Police arrested 17 participants of a right-wing rally against the ongoing Tbilisi Pride Week in the city on Saturday for non-compliance with law enforcement officers, with the development following arrests made earlier during the day.
The United Nations Development Programme issued a joint statement signed by diplomatic representations on Wednesday that welcomed the successful completion of the Tbilisi Pride Week and expressed hope the event would mark a “step forward” in ensuring LGBTQI+ community’s rights.
The Patriarchate of the Georgian Orthodox Church and several other religious denominations in the country on Friday claimed Tbilisi Pride, the LGBTQ rights group that organises the annual festival of the same title, was engaged in “changing the cultural code” rather than protecting the rights of sexual minorities, and called for legal changes to address the “propaganda” and “prevent threats” to “civil peace”.