Man Sentenced to Life for Brutal Murder of Transgender Model Kesaria Abramidze
Beka Jaiani, convicted of murdering well-known Georgian transgender woman Kesaria Abramidze, has been sentenced to life in prison.
Judge Nino Galustashvili of the Tbilisi City Court found Jaiani, 26, guilty of all charges, including the aggravated murder of Abramidze on the grounds of gender identity and with extreme cruelty. He was also convicted of committing regular acts of violence based on gender identity.
Abramidze, 37, was found brutally murdered in her apartment on September 18, 2024. Her boyfriend, Jaiani, was arrested the next morning.
Her murder came just one day after Georgia’s parliament passed a widely criticized anti-LGBT law that restricts freedom of expression and assembly for sexual minorities.
Jaiani did not appear at today’s sentencing. He had partially admitted to the killing but denied the aggravating circumstances. His lawyer said the verdict would be appealed.
The ruling is likely to be the last under existing hate crime provisions that refer to gender identity. The Georgian Dream parliament has already passed controversial amendments to remove the terms “gender” and ” gender identity” from all legislation.
Further escalating the crackdown, on April 4, GD parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili proposed a bill to ban LGBT marches and what he called “relevant colourful objects.” He said the bill would be sent to the rump parliament’s human rights committee for consideration.
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