Kesaria Abramidze's murder and transphobia in Georgia

The high-profile murder of Kesaria Abramidze, a prominent Georgian trans model and media personality, has sent shockwaves through Georgia's queer community, with many accusing the government of enabling her murder through their transphobic and homophobic rhetoric and their 'LGBT propaganda' law. Abramidze's suspected murder, her former partner, was charged with committing a hate crime based on gender, and not one based on Abramidze's gender identity. This week, we spoke to activist Monika Tigishvili about Abramidze's murder and being trans in Georgia, and to the Rule of Law Centre's hate crime researcher Nati Gelovani and Parntership for Human Rights criminal lawyer Tamara Zarkua about how Georgia's legal system handles transphobic hate crimes. Read more: Georgian President attends funeral of murdered trans woman Kesaria Abramidze Heartbreak in Georgia after murder of prominent trans woman Support independent journalism in the Caucasus and become an OC Media Member: Join today. …or donate to the collective Georgian media security fund.