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His employer, TV channel Pirveli, reports that Aleksandr Lashkarava has been found dead in his bed. He had been assaulted Monday by a group demonstrating against a Pride march LGBTI activists wanted to hold at the parliament of the Caucasian Christian Orthodox country.
The violence forced the LGBTI activists to cancel the march. More than fifty journalists were attacked by opponents of the LGBTI campaign. Lashkarava, 37, suffered serious facial fractures. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has been criticized for saying that the trek would be “unacceptable to a large part of society”.
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Tensions ran high in Tbilisi, where LGBT activists had marched.
Ⓒ EPA
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freedom of the press
Press organization Reporters Without Borders, among others, accused the Georgian authorities of inaction and stated that the police had failed to protect the journalists. The US and the EU have condemned the attacks on journalists and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
The Interior Ministry said on Sunday that it had launched an investigation into Lashkarava’s death. Prime Minister Garibashvili offered his condolences to his family and colleagues. He spoke on Facebook of an “unbelievable tragedy.”
Human rights activists and opposition members are not satisfied with this and demand the departure of Prime Minister Garibashvili. According to them, his party Georgian Dream is partly responsible for violence against journalists.
On Sunday evening, 8,000 mainly young people had gathered at the parliament.
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