ECHR communicates case against Georgia regarding LGBT people at a football game
By Levan Abramishvili
Wednesday, September 4
The applicants wore rainbow-colored armbands to show their support for one of the Georgian players, Guram Kashia, who had won the Equal Game award by UEFA for promoting diversity, inclusion, and equality in the European football. They also had with them rainbow-colored flags and various posters, stickers, and banners depicting their support for equality.
The action was in support of the vice-captain of the Georgian national team Guram Kashia, who wore a rainbow flag armband in support of the LGBT community during a match in the Netherlands on October 2017, who received massive backlash from ultra-conservative nationalistic groups in Georgia.
The applicants allege that the police did not allow them to enter the stadium with their armbands. Most of their posters, flags, stickers, and banners with LGBT symbols were confiscated at the entrance. A couple of applicants, who managed to get into the stadium with a rainbow-colored flag, hung the flag out towards the end of the match. It was immediately taken away by representatives of the Ministry of the Interior.
The applicants protested it to the Ministry of the Interior and the Chief Prosecutor’s Office. The latter forwarded the applicants’ complaint to the general inspection department of the Ministry of the Interior.
In reply to their complaint, the applicants were informed that on September 9, 2018, the police had been instructed, to protect public order, to prevent people from entering the stadium with items depicting various symbols or attributes, including those related to the LGBT community.
On March 7, 2019, the applicants filed another complaint with the Interior Minister and the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia alleging that they had been discriminated against on account of their sexual orientation and gender identity and that the police had abused their authority. They requested the initiation of criminal proceedings and the identification of those responsible. Their complaint has been left unanswered.
According to ECHR, “the applicants complain under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights taken separately and in conjunction with Article 14 about the violation of their freedom of expression on account of their sexual orientation and gender identification.”
Based on the information, the Court has asked the Parties the following questions:
1. In view of the fact that the applicants have not pursued a civil remedy against the police, can they be said to have exhausted domestic remedies, within the meaning of Article 35 § 1 of the Convention, in respect of the complaints now made before the Court?
2. Are the complaints of the applicants under Articles 10 and 14 of the Convention premature?
3. In view of the measures undertaken with respect to the applicants on 9 September 2018, has there been an interference with their right to freedom of expression within the meaning of Article 10 of the Convention? If so, was the interference prescribed by law? What legitimate aim did the contested measures pursue, were they proportionate to that legitimate aim and necessary in a democratic society?
4. Have the applicants suffered discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation and gender identity, contrary to Article 14 of the Convention read in conjunction with Article 10 of the Convention?
Before deciding on the admissibility of the applicants, the Court will obtain responses from the Parties. If the Court declares the applications admissible, it will then proceed to rule on the merits of the complaints.
This is one of the cases of the ill-treatment of the LGBT community in Georgia. The limitation of the right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly is especially problematic.
According to the Public Defender of Georgia, the Georgian LGBT “community has failed so far to exercise freedom of expression without substantial violations, including situations, where their physical security was at stake.”
The problem was vividly exemplified in the process of organization of Tbilisi Pride by some members of the Georgian LGBT community. The Pride was planned to be conducted on 18-23 June and to be comprised of several events, including March of Honor in the Tbilisi streets. Before the event, far-right groups expressly articulated aggression towards the event, the organizers and their supporters. After several cancelations and postponements, the March took place near the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Tbilisi.