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“I don’t know about that knight, but anyone who raises his hand against a police officer will face consequences,” Natia Mezvrishvili, the deputy minister of interior, told reporters.
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The Interior Ministry said on June 17 that it had launched an investigation into formation of an illegal paramilitary formation. “All elements of a crime are in evidence: a group is being set up to restrict a person’s right to move around freely… and restrict his/her freedom,” said Tbilisi Pride, adding that Vasadze’s call contained direct threat of violence. “Tbilisi Pride calls on the Interior Ministry to immediately begin an investigation into the statement made by Levan Vasadze today,” Tbilisi Pride said in a statement. The organizers of Tbilisi Pride called on police to respond to the threats and provide safety guarantees for their events. “Even if the ambassadors from the whole world come whining to this government, we will not let them go ahead with this rally,” he said. “We’ve heard that planeloads of foreign sodomites are coming here,“ he said. Vashadze – often called a “knight” after having received the honor from Georgia’s royal family – also warned Western diplomats and activists not to get involved in the looming confrontation.
#PEOPLE REACT TO THE ANTI GAY FLAG SERIES#
The threats cast doubt over plans to hold what would be the first LGBTQI Pride event in the Caucasus, planned as series of events between June 18 and 23 that will culminate in what the organizers call a “March of Dignity.” “Among us are lots of people with military experience, famous athletes, rugby players, wrestlers…f the propagandists of perversion attempt to hold some sort of demonstration, we will break through any police cordon.” “We will organize ourselves into citizens’ brigades… and they will unite in a legion,” Levan Vasadze, a millionaire self-styled guardian of traditional values known for his anti-gay vitriol, told a rally on June 16. Vigilante groups have called on supporters to disrupt the first-ever LGBTQI pride event from taking place in Tbilisi, and police have said they can not guarantee the safety of its participants. Supporters of a Pride event in Tbilisi demonstrate in front of the government administration building on June 14.