A transgender influencer and prominent figure was stabbed to death in Georgia just hours after the country's parliament approved a wide-ranging anti-LGBTQ+ bill.
Model and Instagram influencer Kesaria Abramidze was found dead at her home in the Didi Dighomi district of the capital, Tbilisi, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Wednesday (18 September).
Abramidze's Boyfriend Allegedly Killed Her Over a Social Media Post She Shared Making Their Relationship Public
Abramidze, 37, was found with multiple stab wounds at her apartment in Tbilisi. In the early hours of Thursday (19 September), a man was arrested at Kutaisi International airport, in connection with the death. The man was identified as Abramidze's 26-year-old boyfriend, Beka Jaiani.
Jaiani allegedly killed Abramidze's following an argument. Surveillance footage captured him leaving the building where the model lived, on the evening of her death.
According to multiple reports, Jaiani became upset over a photo Abramidze posted of the two of them together, outing their relationship hours before the murder. Jaiani, who worked as a bouncer at a local nightclub, wanted the keep the relationship a secret.
Abramidze was best-known for finishing fifth in Miss Trans Star International 2018, winning the popularity award. Her death is being investigated as a "premeditated murder committed with particular cruelty and aggravating circumstances on gender grounds."
Georgia's Anti-LGBT Bill
Her death came just a day after Georgian lawmakers passed a bill which would give local authorities the right to ban Pride events and flags. The legislation also seeks to outlaw gender-affirming care and LGBTQ+ people's right to adopt, as well as nullifying same-sex marriages performed on Georgian territory.
The law has been compared to Russia's "gay propaganda" law and described as "the most terrible thing to happen to the LGBT community in Georgia."
