31. Oktober 2012

 

Die folgenden Ausschnitte aus ausgewählten Quellen enthalten Informationen zur Situation von LGBT-Personen in Georgien (Zugriff auf alle Quellen am 31. Oktober 2012):

 

·      USDOS - US Department of State: Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 2011 - Georgien, 24. Mai 2012 (verfügbar auf ecoi.net)

„Social prejudices against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons were strong, and the Georgian Orthodox Church strongly condemned same-sex sexual activity. During the year only two LGBT organizations worked openly because of extensive societal stigma against LGBT persons. Problems reported included incidents of police mistreatment, family violence, and verbal and physical societal abuse. Identoba, an LGBT advocacy and support NGO, reported victims of discrimination and violence were reluctant to report incidents to police for fear of disclosing their sexual orientation to family members and homophobic police reactions.

Identoba reported that in March several young LGBT persons were involved in an argument outside a bar in Tbilisi. When the police arrived to quell the dispute, the participants were transferred to a local police station and questioned. One participant reported that police used homophobic language and sexually harassed the detainees throughout the interrogation until they were released the next morning.

There was an unconfirmed report in September that three German tourists were beaten and thrown into a river in Tusheti after their hosts learned of their sexual orientation. However, no complaints were filed with the local police or the German embassy in Tbilisi, and no investigation was undertaken.“ (USDOS, 24. Mai 2012, Section 6)

·      Lucas Paoli Itaborahy: State-sponsored Homophobia - A world survey of laws criminalising same-sex sexual acts between consenting adults, Mai 2012 (veröffentlicht von ILGA, verfügbar auf ecoi.net)

„Homosexual acts legal (113 countries) […]

Europe […] Georgia (2000) […]

Equal age of consent for homosexual and heterosexual acts (99 countries) […]

Europe […] Georgia (2000) […]

Prohibition of discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation (52 countries) […]

Europe […] Georgia (2006)“ (Lucas Paoli Itaborahy, Mai 2012, S. 11-15)

·      ILGA-Europe: Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex People in Europe 2011, Mai 2012 (veröffentlicht von ILGA, verfügbar auf ecoi.net)

„Georgia […]

Equality and non-discrimination […]

Discrimination in employment is explicitly prohibited by law on the following grounds: sexual orientation […]

LGBTI organisations officially registered/function without obstruction by the State: no obstruction […]

Legal gender recognition

Existence of legal/administrative procedures for change of name and legal gender

Possibility to change one’s name to match the gender identity

Possibility to change one’s gender on offi cial documents to match the gender identity

Equality and non-discrimination

In 2011, Georgia was reviewed during the UN’s Universal Periodic Review process. However, no recommendations in relation to LGBT issues were made.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in its Resolution 1801 (2011) on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Georgia stated that the authorities should ‘step up their efforts to fight any forms of intolerance and hate speech based on ethnicity, faith, gender or sexual orientation.’

Police and law enforcement

LGBT human rights defenders submitted a claim to the European Court of Human Rights alleging abuse of police power, inhuman and degrading treatment and discrimination, during a 2009 search of the offi ces of the Georgian LGBT NGO, Inclusive Foundation. The case, Aghdgomelashvili and Japaridze v Georgia (Application no. 7224/11), alleges that the offi cers used homophobic insults, handled the staff roughly, and strip-searched some of them, all as part of a search which served no legitimate purpose. The case argues that there were breaches of Articles 3, 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

Member organisations of ILGA-Europe

Identoba www.identoba.com

Inclusive Foundation www.inclusive-foundation.org

LGBT Georgia www.lgbt.ge

Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group www.women.ge“ (ILGA-Europe, S. 74-75)

·      Civil Georgia: CDM Wants 'Constitutional Amendments Against Immorality', 22. Mai 2012

„Following a march of gay activists in Tbilisi, which was thwarted by an Orthodox group on May 17, lawmakers from the Christian-Democratic Movement (CDM), called for constitutional amendments in order to deter, as they put it, propaganda of ‘homosexuality and indecency.’

‘We condemn any form of violence no matter who is a perpetrator,’ MP Giorgi Targamadze, the leader of CDM and of a small parliamentary minority group said, referring to a fist-fight that broke on May 17 after an Orthodox group blocked gay activists’ march.

‘But at the same time we are against of portraying it [this march] as a harmless stroll by representatives of sexual minority or by thier supporters,’ MP Targamadze said.

He said that the march itself was not ‘an eventual goal’ of gay activists, adding that their ‘eventual goal is legal and moral legalization of homosexuality, indecency and wrong way of life.’

MP Targamadze said that in ‘some countries homosexuals are holding top level government posts and the right of same sex marriage is constitutionally guaranteed.’ He said that this ‘example of some European states cannot serve as a guide for us.’

CDM MP Nika Laliashvili told Civil.ge that his party’s proposal for constitutional amendments would involve several points: to further stress the role of Christianity in the constitution (the role of Orthodox Christian Church is already defined by a constitutional agreement between the state and the Church); introducing ‘moral criteria’ that should be met by persons holding government posts; ban on disseminating such information that can be ‘insulting for a person’s religious feelings’; to add a clause to the constitution according to which the state will ‘recognize and protect’ that marriage is between a man and a woman. […]

In a response to these remarks, a ruling party MP Lasha Tordia said it was ‘very regrettable that from this high parliamentary rostrum a lawmaker makes statements, which in fact fuel strife between certain members of the society.’

‘I was expecting you to make a call for being tolerant and to say that what happened on May 17 [fist-fight during the gay activists’ march] was immoral and unacceptable for everyone who stands for the principle of building democratic state.’

He also said it was unacceptable to, on the one hand, claim being a human rights defender and ‘on the other hand to make homophobic statements.’” (Civil Georgia, 22. Mai 2012)

·      Civil Georgia: Ombudsman Slams CDM's 'Homophobic' Remarks, Proposal, 23. Mai 2012

„Public Defender, Giorgi Tugushi, said a proposal by lawmakers from Christian-Democratic Movement (CDM) to amend constitution to, as sponsors of the bill say, ‘protect morality’, was ‘absolutely inadmissible.’

Tugushi said that remarks by CDM lawmakers were ‘no less worrisome than the proposed’ constitutional amendments. […]

The Public Defender said such remarks of ‘homophobic nature’ were contributing ‘to the establishment of incorrect stereotypes in the society and encouraging discrimination.’“ (Civil Georgia, 23. Mai 2012)

·      AI - Amnesty International: ‘Virulent’ homophobic attacks put South Caucasus activists at risk, 18. Mai 2012

„Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan must do more to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, Amnesty International said after a spate of attacks on activists. […]

‘The virulent nature of these recent attacks shows the need for a public dialogue to tackle homophobia throughout the South Caucasus to protect LGBTI people from discrimination,’ said John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International. […]

On Thursday, a peaceful march in central Tbilisi marking the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia came under attack when a group of Orthodox Christians and members of the ‘Orthodox Parents’ Union’ began insulting and threatening protesters from IDENTOBA, a Georgian LGBTI rights organization. Orthodox priests were among the counter-demonstrators, who prevented the marchers from continuing to the Georgian Parliament, shouting abuse and throwing punches at the peaceful protesters. Fighting reportedly broke out as the counter-demonstrators attacked marchers, tearing up placards.

A video of the incident shows police intervening once a scuffle broke out between the two groups. Five people were detained – including three of the IDENTOBA protesters – and were released shortly afterwards.

‘A hallmark of a tolerant society is allowing peaceful protests to proceed and stopping discrimination in its tracks,’ said Dalhuisen.

Public authorities must respect the freedom of expression of all groups without discrimination. This extends to protecting peaceful demonstrators from violent attacks.

‘Police in Tbilisi failed to prevent homophobic and transphobic violence from marring the International Day against Homophobia march – they must now investigate what went wrong and implement measures to improve their policing of peaceful demonstrations in future,’ Dalhuisen added.“ (AI, 18. Mai 2012)

·      CRRC - Caucasus Research Resource Centers: Knowledge and Attitudes toward the EU in Georgia, 5. Dezember 2011

„Furthermore, while Georgia remains a deeply socially conservative country, it appears that some attitudes may be slightly changing in a more liberal, European direction. The number of people who think that it is never justified for a woman to have sex outside of marriage has decreased from 78% to 64%, while the number of people who think it is never justified for a woman to give birth outside of marriage has decreased from 63% to 50%. This decrease in social conservatism does not apply across the board, however, the amount of people who consider homosexuality never justified remains unchanged at 90%.“ (CRRC, 5. Dezember 2011, S. 7)

·      24 Saat: Georgian journalist mulls reasons for reduced rating of opposition coalition, 11. September 2012 (zitiert nach BBC Monitoring)

„Mulling the results of the public opinion study conducted by the NDI, according to which the opposition Georgian Dream coalition has lost 7 per cent of its approval rating, journalist Eka Kvesitadze has said that the drop was caused by the Georgian Dream leader Bidzina Ivanishvili's unrealistic promises about ‚wonder democracy‘ as well as his party list consisting of ‚xenophobes’, ‘homophobes’ and officials of Shevardnadze's time. […]

Most of the candidates running in single-mandate constituencies are such xenophobes and homophobes that, for example, one of them refused to go into the Radisson Blue Iveria Hotel (because of the word ‘blue’ [Georgian slang for homosexual] in the hotel's name).” (24 Saat, 11. September 2012)

·      IHT – International Herald Tribune: Global Opinion. Latitude. A Backlash in Georgia, 14. Juni 2012 (Autorin: Haley Sweetland Edwards)

„’Never have these issues been as visible as they are right now,’ Eka Aghdgomelashvili, director of Women’s Initiative Support Group, told me. ‘It’s a breakthrough.’

Irakli Vacharadze, executive director of Identoba, an umbrella organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, nodded in agreement. ‘It’s very positive,’ he said. ‘But I want you to write that it’s scary, too. This is the first time we have been threatened, physically threatened.’

Issues of concern to the gay community moved into the public sphere in Georgia with an anti-homophobia parade on May 17, among the first in the nation’s history, that was blocked by a group of Orthodox priests and their followers, leading to a minor but bloody street brawl.

The event drew international media attention and afterward members of the LGBT community met with the U.S., French and British ambassadors, other foreign diplomats, NGOs, and Georgian government representatives, who pledged to protect the LGBT community during future demonstrations. […]

While neither Georgians nor the Georgian government are anywhere near gay-friendly — a 2011 poll found that 90 percent of Georgians thought homosexuality was never acceptable — the government’s policy of cozying up with the European Union, the United States and the Council of Europe has led in part to the passage of a handful of laws and protections for ethnic, religious and social minorities here.

While those moves have met with praise from the international community, they’ve also left the government open for attack by both opposition parties and the powerful Georgian Orthodox Church, which regularly accuse the government of abandoning ‘traditional Georgian values’ — an accusation that resonates with a deeply conservative population. […]

Already, the LGBT community has found itself the subject of heated political attacks, and subsequent social reactions. Last month, after the furor surrounding the parade on May 17, Identoba was forced to abandon its office in Tbilisi when its neighbors made it clear that the group was no longer welcome. New homophobic and anti-gay Georgian-language Facebook groups have also emerged, including one in which its members debate the best way to kill gay people.

‘I think they decided on burning us alive,’ said Vacharadze quietly. ‘That’s the thing. It’s a very exciting time for us. We are more vocal now than ever before. But it’s also …‘ He paused, searching the ceiling for words. ‘We don’t want to be afraid.’“ (IHT, 14. Juni 2012)

·      Civil Georgia: Church Reacts on Rumored Gay Parade Plan, 21. August 2010

„The Georgian Orthodox Church called on the authorities on August 20 not to allow holding of gay parade - an event, which is only rumored to be planned, but no sign has so far emerged that would indicate on its validity.

‘There are rumors according to which a gay parade is intended to be held either in Tbilisi or Batumi,’ the Georgian Patriarchate said in a statement. ‘We request the authorities not to let public march of Sodomites or a Gomorrahns so that to prevent it from becoming cause of a terrible sin, the society's indignation and unrest.’

Rumors that gay parade is planned first emerged on Georgian internet forums three months ago. The issue was then discussed by ex-state minister and now opposition figure Giorgi Khaindrava in one of his interviews with the Georgian press in June; he again spoke on the issue earlier this month saying that authorities were promoting an idea of holding gay parade in late August, adding that by doing so the authorities aimed at ‘destroying major Georgian values’. The issue briefly featured in the campaign for Tbilisi mayoral office ahead of the May 31 local elections, when then candidates Zviad Dzidziguri, leader of Conservative Party and Gogi Topadze, leader of Industrialists Party, spoke out against alleged plans. Rumors further intensified in recent weeks and it has been extensively discussed on internet forums and social networkings sites.“ (Civil Georgia, 21. August 2010)

·      IWPR - Institute for War and Peace Reporting: Georgia: Gay Book Provokes Storm, 14. Mai 2010

„Georgian liberals are concerned by an upsurge in religious extremism after clashes over a recently-published book. Activists from an extreme Orthodox Christian youth group raided Kavksiya television on May 7, and beat up the journalists and guests on a talk show which was due to discuss the book by Erekle Deisadze.

Deisadze, a previously unknown 19-year-old, wrote about homosexuality and incest in the book ‘Saidumlo Siroba’. The title in Georgian is not only obscene but also just one letter removed from ‘the last supper’, which enraged religious extremists.

The book had already sparked a demonstration by radical religious groups when it was launched on May 4 at the Ilia State University. A counter-demonstration by liberals the next day in favour of free speech turned into a mass fight.

After the incident in the television studio, police detained eight activists from the Popular Orthodox Movement, PRM, which links several radical religious groups.

‘Homosexuals declare that we’re all the same. But how are we all the same? They are sick, they are not people. I am not a pacifist, I am a Georgian warrior and will give an adequate answer to anyone who slanders me,’ said Irakli Pachoshvili, a PRM activist who himself studies at the Ilia State University. ‘The aim of our organisation and our lives is to fight for Orthodoxy, and the forms of the fight will be shown over time,’ Tengiz Omanidze, another member of the group, said.

The PRM was founded in March by Malkhaz Gulashvili, the former editor of the Georgian Times newspaper. It includes the Union of Orthodox Parents, which has for several years battled against what it considers to be non-Orthodox movements, as well as smaller groups.“ (IWPR, 14. Mai 2010)

·      Der Standard: Polizei stürmt einzige Homosexuellen-NGO, 15. Jänner 2010

„Paata Sabelashvili, Gründer und Leiter der georgischen Inclusive Foundation, der einzigen georgischen Organisation, die sich für die Interessen von Homo- und Bisexuellen sowie von Transgendern einsetzt, ist wieder frei. Das meldet das Monatsmagazin Datum auf seiner Homepage. Am 15. Dezember war das im Zentrum von Tiflis gelegene Büro von Zivil-Polizisten des Innenministeriums gestürmt worden - erst Ende Dezember wurde die Aktion bekannt. Sabelashvili, der noch wenige Tage zuvor gegenüber Datum die Diskriminierung von Homosexuellen in Georgien und die ständige Angst vor Repressalien und Übergriffen geschildert hatte, wurde wegen angeblichen Drogenschmuggels verhaftet.

Nach zwölf Tagen in überfüllten Gefängnis-Zellen - die Wachen hatten ihn gegenüber den Mitgefangenen als homosexuell geoutet - wurde Sabelashvili erst aus der Haft entlassen, nachdem er auf Anraten seiner Anwälte ein vom Staatsanwalt angebotenes Schuldeingeständnis mit einer Strafe von 1600 Euro auf Bewährung unterzeichnet hatte. ‚Jetzt bereue ich sehr, dass ich die Einigung unterschrieben habe. Ich würde lieber im Gefängnis bleiben, als das Verhalten zu erleben, mit dem ich jetzt konfrontiert bin‘, sagt Sabelashvili gegenüber Datum. Freunde und Mitstreiter hätten Angst, würden ihm nicht mehr trauen und nicht mehr mit ihm sprechen, weil sie glauben, er würde mit der Polizei kooperieren. […]

Der Menschenrechtsaktivist gibt zu, eine kleine Menge Marihuana in seinem Büro gehabt zu haben, jedoch deutlich unter den fünf Gramm, was in Georgien nur ein Verwaltungsvergehen ist. Die Polizei habe das Beweismittel jedoch einfach eingesteckt und nicht dokumentiert. Später seien er und zwei weitere Zeugen auf der Polizeistation gezwungen worden, die Siegel zu unterschreiben, mit denen die Beweisstücke im Nachhinein gesichert wurden. Die Anklage gab an, acht Gramm Marihuana sichergestellt zu haben - genug für ein Strafverfahren gegen den Sabelashvili, dem auch Schuldeingeständnis abgepresst wurde, laut dem er Drogen ins Land geschmuggelt habe. ‚Ich wurde damit erpresst, dass die Polizei sonst zwölf Frauen gegenüber ihren Familien outet‘, sagt der Gründer der Inclusive Foundation. Die Frauen hatten sich in den Räumen des Vereins zu einer Lesben-Gesprächsrunde getroffen, als die Polizei kam. […]

Nicht nur unter den Polizeikräften herrsche in Georgien extreme Homophobie. Laut einer Umfrage des Caucasus Research Ressource Centers könnten sich 81 Prozent der Georgier nicht vorstellen, mit einem Homosexuellen befreundet zu sein.“ (Der Standard, 15. Jänner 2010)