On 14 June, protests broke out in Tbilisi due to the LGBT Pride Week, which is set to take place between 18 and 23 June.

The LGBT activists and NGOs who support the cause gathered on the streets of Tbilisi demanding from the state officials, including Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze, Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia and Parliamentary Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze, to share their position on the Tbilisi Pride. “It is high time and critical for our authorities to make crystal clear where they stand and what values they stand for,” they stated.

On the same day, the Georgian Patriarchate condemned the scheduled event. The church officials said that sexual minorities in Georgia are trying to display themselves as victims and attract international donations. “In reality the sexual minorities are trying to popularize their lifestyle and make the government legalize the sin,” read the statement. The patriarchate has urged the diplomatic corps, international organizations and human rights activists to be more cautious to the “very sensitive issue” for the majority of Georgians and not to encourage such events, which may cause confrontations and unrest.

Parallelly to the rally of the LGBT activists, the conservative groups in Georgia gathered ahead of the rally to organize a counter-rally. They shouted insults and threw small objects at the activists. A Police cordon was deployed to prevent an outbreak of violence. The most prominent figure amongst the counter-rally movement was Levan Vasadze, a member of the World Congress of Families with connections to the Russian “Eurasianist” movement. There was a meeting in one of the foreign embassies in support of Tbilisi Pride. “We know that this is a direct and rough interference into our internal affairs (…) [The West] tries to impose on us non-traditional, anti-Christian, anti-Caucasian, anti-Georgian norms, which shall never become the norm here,” said Vasadze.

After the LGBT activists finished their talks with the government officials, they were safely transported via mini-buses which were provided by the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, the conservative groups still stayed in front of the police cordon, resulting in clashes between the right-wing groups and the police. 28 people were detained for resisting police officers and other acts of vandalism. The Georgian Interior Ministry reported that the detainees tried to break the police cordon and threw eggs at the peaceful demonstrators supporting LGBT rights. Seven, who were especially aggressive, remained in preliminary detention facilities, while the other 21 have been released.