Activists began five days of Pride celebrations last week and had planned a “March for Dignity” on Monday in central Tbilisi, shrugging off criticism from the Orthodox Church and conservatives who said the event had no place in Georgia.
But the march plan was disrupted by counter protesters before it could begin, forcing organisers to call it off. “The situation is really bad,” Tbilisi Pride director Giorgi Tabagari told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone, saying members of his team had gone into hiding and were continually relocating in an effort to keep safe. “We’re just trying to survive and to avoid the people that are wandering in the street,” Tabagari said, adding that he was “nearly killed” as a mob surrounded his car while he