2013 Tbilisi anti-homophobia rally protests

Protests in Georgia 2013 Tbilisi protests Protests in Tbilisi, Georgia, 2013-05-17.jpg yes 2013 05 17 Tbilisi Demonstrations, violent clashes NGO Identoba Flag of Georgian Orthodox Church.svg Georgian Orthodox priests,Conservatives attack gay activists at rally in Tbilisi https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-22565723 18 May 2013 17 May 2013 BBC News up to 20,000Slow Response by Georgians to Mob Attack on Gay Rally https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/world/europe/georgian-officials-react-slowly-to-anti-gay-attack.html?hp&_r=0 20 May 2013 New York Times 20 May 2013 "ultra-conservative Orthodox supporters"Delany Max Church supporters disrupt Georgia gay rights rally https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i8jzmYMM2kU02cbfDRx4LZ8t-OXQ?docId=CNG.dfdd18a904ef32d3b552ba1a24bc5608.701 https://archive.today/20130616153527/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i8jzmYMM2kU02cbfDRx4LZ8t-OXQ?docId=CNG.dfdd18a904ef32d3b552ba1a24bc5608.701 dead June 16, 2013 18 May 2013 18 May 2013 AFP A rally against homophobia was held in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 17, 2013, the International Day Against Homophobia. Gay rights activists holding the rally were met by thousands of protestors opposing homosexuality, who broke through a police cordon and violently pursued them, beating and throwing stones at them.Pascale Harter From our own correspondent: Sexual mores in Georgia and Denmark BBC World Service 4 Jun 2013 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p018zzpg Background Members of the LGBTI+ community have faced prejudice in Georgia, with homosexuality being decriminalized in 2000.Temple-Malt Em Homosexual male (gay) sex was only decriminalised in England some 50 years ago 2019-03-27 50 Facts Everyone Should Know about Crime & Punishment 21–26 https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvmd85p6.7 2025-10-08 Policy Press 10.2307/j.ctvmd85p6.7 subscription The main proponent against the LGBTI+ community has been the Georgian Orthodox Church, who has condemned acts of homosexuality. On May 15th, Ilia II of Georgia, the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, had called for banning the gay rights rally, describing homosexuality as an "anomaly and disease."Georgian Orthodox Church Leader Calls For Gay-Rights Rally Ban https://www.rferl.org/a/georgia-patriarch-gay-rights/24988151.html 18 May 2013 16 May 2013 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty The day before the rally, Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili stated that LGBTQ individuals "have the same rights as any other social groups" in Georgia.Georgian Prime Minister Says Sexual Minorities Have Equal Rights https://www.rferl.org/a/georgia-lgbt-equal-rights/24986492.html 18 May 2013 15 May 2013 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Protest Events Dozens of gay rights activists had gathered in downtown Tbilisi for the rally. A reported 20,000 Georgian Orthodox church members protested, led by church priests, and a clash ensued in Pushkin Park, near Freedom Square. Police forces did not prevent the homophobic protesters from running at the anti-homophobia rally participants,http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=26073 Violence Against Anti-Homophobia Rally 18 May 2013 Civil.Ge Civil Georgia as priests asked. Anti-homophobia demonstrators were evacuated by the police in buses, which were attacked by the counter-demonstrators.Crowd Led by Priests Attacks Gay Rights Marchers in Georgia The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/18/world/europe/gay-rights-rally-is-attacked-in-georgia.html?hpw 17 May 2013 17 May 2013 New York Times Roth Andrew 17 people were injured in the clashes - 12 of which were hospitalized .2013-05-17 Georgia: Homophobic violence mars Tbilisi Pride event https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2013/05/georgia-homophobic-violence-mars-tbilisi-pride-event/ 2025-10-08 Amnesty International en Reaction The violence was widely condemned by foreign embassies,Minister shocked by anti-gay demonstration in Georgia Government of the Netherlands http://www.government.nl/news/2013/05/17/minister-shocked-by-anti-gay-demonstration-in-georgia.html 17 May 2013 17 May 2013Gewalt gegen Homosexuelle: Westerwelle kritisiert georgische Regierung http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/gewalt-gegen-homosexuelle-westerwelle-kritisiert-georgische-regierung-a-900731.html 19 May 2013 19 May 2013 Spiegel Online and non-governmental organisations including Transparency Georgia, the Georgian Young Lawyers' OrganizationInitial evaluation of observer organizations on the scheduled rally on May 17, the International Day against homophobia and transphobia http://gyla.ge/eng/news?info=1570 GYLA 20 May 2013 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20141019042348/http://gyla.ge/eng/news?info=1570 19 October 2014 and Amnesty International.Georgia: Homophobic violence mars Tbilisi Pride event https://www.amnesty.org/en/news/georgia-homophobic-violence-mars-tbilisi-pride-event-2013-05-17 Amnesty International 20 May 2013 2014-10-28 https://web.archive.org/web/20141028051207/http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/georgia-homophobic-violence-mars-tbilisi-pride-event-2013-05-17 dead Ilia II of Georgia condemned any violence, but reiterated his view that homosexuality is a sin and should not be popularized.Ilia the Second – Church is Against Violence, but Sin Can't be Popularized http://www.interpressnews.ge/en/society/47090-ilia-the-second-church-is-against-violence-but-sin-cant-be-popularized.html 18 May 2013 18 May 2013 Interpressnews The Ministry of Internal Affairs launched an investigation and promised prosecution of the perpetrators.Ministry of Internal Affairs launches investigation into the yesterday's developments http://www.interpressnews.ge/en/justice/47093-ministry-of-internal-affairs-launches-investigation-into-the-yesterdays-developments.html 18 May 2013 18 May 2013 Interpressnews Paul Rimple and Mark Mullen have described the events as part of a larger struggle between the church and the secular government.Rimple Paul Georgia's Homophobic Church http://www.themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/georgias-homophobic-church/480136.html 19 May 2013 The Moscow Times 19 May 2013Exclusive: Mark Mullen discusses LGBT supporters' rally in Tbilisi http://www.georgianews.ge/society/23399-exclusive-mark-mullen-discusses-lgbt-supporters-rally-in-tbilisi.html 19 May 2013 18 May 2013 Georgian News 20 October 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20141020020736/http://www.georgianews.ge/society/23399-exclusive-mark-mullen-discusses-lgbt-supporters-rally-in-tbilisi.html dead On 15 May 2017, Georgian Appeals Court would rule the Ministry's negligence failed to protect its citizens and incited violence against the protesters. Those who have suffered during the riots would be compensated 12,500 Georgian lari for damages suffered during the 2013 riot. Tsiklauri Maia 2017-05-16 Those who suffered in Tbilisi's 17 May 2013 crackdown on anti-homophobic protests to be paid damages - JAMnews https://jam-news.net/georgian-moi-to-indemnify-to-may-17-2013-rally-victims/ 2025-10-08 Jamnews in English en-US On 16 December 2021, the European Court of Human Rights judged that the failure to protect the demonstration by Georgia state was a violation of the articles 3, 14 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.CASE OF WOMEN'S INITIATIVES SUPPORTING GROUP AND OTHERS v. GEORGIA 16 December 2021 https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-214040 European Court of Human Rights On 17 September 2024, The Georgian Parliament unanimously voted for the Family Values bill which targeted the rights and freedoms of the LGBTI+ community. The bill introduced harsh restrictions on the LGBTQ community banning gender transition procedures, adoptions by gay and transgender people, and same sex marriage. The bill also stated that they would effectively limiting the dissemination of information related to LGBTI+ issues in schools, public gatherings and workplaces. Bergfeldt Andreas 2024-09-20 New bill in Georgia violates LGBTI+ rights https://crd.org/2024/09/20/new-bill-in-georgia-violates-lgbti-rights/ 2025-10-08 Civil Rights Defenders en-US The following day on September 18th, a well known transgender women in the country Kesaria Abramidze was murdered in her home in Tbilisi. “With this bill the government is targeting the LGBTI+ community, and this escalation is incredibly dangerous. By creating an environment that fosters intolerance, we risk seeing a surge in hate crimes like this tragic murder,” says Moreta Bobokhidze who was a Georgian human rights and gender equality activists.Bergfeldt Andreas 2024-09-20 New bill in Georgia violates LGBTI+ rights https://crd.org/2024/09/20/new-bill-in-georgia-violates-lgbti-rights/ 2025-10-08 Civil Rights Defenders en-US See also Georgia (country) LGBTQ LGBT rights in Georgia References 30em Category:2013 in Georgia (country) Category:2013 in LGBTQ history Category:2013 riots Category:LGBTQ in Georgia (country) Category:LGBTQ-related riots Category:Protests in Georgia (country) Category:2010s in Tbilisi Category:May 2013 in Asia