TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — A man was convicted Wednesday of stabbing to death a transgender actor and model in her apartment in Georgia last year, a killing that shocked the South Caucasus nation and came a day after lawmakers passed legislation that severely restricted LGBTQ+ rights.
Beka Jaiani, 26, was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of murder with particular cruelty and beating of Kesaria Abramidze, 37.
Jaiani had partially admitted guilt but rejected accusations of particular cruelty or that there were gender-based motives for his actions. He was not in the Tbilisi courtroom for the verdict, saying his psychological and emotional state prevented his being there, but added he regretted his actions.
His lawyer, Giorgi Mdinaradze, denounced the verdict as “based solely on moral considerations rather than moral grounds,” and said he would appeal the conviction.
According to media reports, Jaiani and Abramidze were in a relationship for about two years and fought a lot before the killing in September 2024.
A day after the killing, dozens of mourners brought flowers and candles to a makeshift memorial in central Tbilisi to Abramidze, whom members of the LGBTQ+ community praised as a symbol of strength and freedom. Although activists did not link the killing to the passage of the legislation, some feared the new laws could lead to an increase in hate crimes.
Her death was a chilling reminder of the LGBTQ+ community’s vulnerability in Georgia, a country of 3.7 million people where the Orthodox Church wields significant influence, and demonstrations against gay rights are common.
Police block opponents of gay rights as they try to interfere a pride event in Tbilisi, Georgia, on July 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze, File)
LGBTQ+ rights were severely curtailed by the laws that banned same-sex marriage, adoptions by same-sex couples and public endorsement and depictions of LGBTQ+ relationships and people in the media. The laws also banned gender-affirming care and changing gender designations in official documents.
The bill was introduced by Georgia Dream, the longtime ruling party, which opponents have accused of steering the country toward Russia’s orbit despite popular sentiment for closer ties with Europe.
Georgian far right supporters hold a banner reading, “No to LGBT darkness,” in front of parliament during a rally against Pride Week in Tbilisi, Georgia, on July 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov, File)
Georgian Dream was set up by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia and served briefly as Georgia’s prime minister in 2012. It promised to restore civil rights and “reset” relations with Moscow, which fought a brief war with Georgia in 2008 over the breakaway province of South Ossetia. Russia then recognized the independence of South Ossetia and another breakaway Georgian province, Abkhazia, and established military bases there.
Russia has also severely curtailed LGBTQ+ rights in the last decade by banning public endorsement of “nontraditional sexual relations” and adopting laws against gender-affirming care, among other measures. Its Supreme Court effectively outlawed LGBTQ+ activism by labeling what authorities called the LGBTQ+ “movement” operating in Russia as an extremist organization and banning it.
The measure restricting LGBTQ+ rights in Georgia came shortly after the parliament adopted the “foreign influence” law that critics denounced as borrowed from Moscow’s playbook. The measure requires media and nongovernmental organizations to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.
Opponents of gay rights burn LGBTQ+ flags to counter a pride event in Tbilisi, Georgia, on July 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze, File)
That measure ignited weeks of protests and was widely criticized as threatening democratic freedoms and jeopardizing Georgia’s chances of joining the European Union. It formally applied for membership in 2022, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but the bloc halted its accession in response to the “foreign influence” law and froze some of its financial support. The United States imposed sanctions on dozens of Georgian officials in response to the law.
With opposition lawmakers boycotting, the Georgian Dream-dominated parliament adopted a law earlier this month that made not registering as a foreign agent a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both. Georgian Dream said the measure matched the Foreign Agents Registration Act in the U.S.
Parliament also adopted amendments to existing laws replacing the word “gender” with “the equality of women and men.”
