A Trans woman was killed in Georgia the day after an anti-LGBT law was passed

One of Georgia’s most prominent women has been murdered in her home, a day after the country’s parliament passed a major anti-LGBT bill.

Local officials say Kesaria Abramidze, 37, was stabbed to death in her apartment in the capital, Tbilisi, on Wednesday.

The Home Office said it was investigating “a case of premeditated murder carried out in brutal and heinous circumstances on gender grounds”.

A 26-year-old man has been arrested in a case that shocked the small South Caucasian nation. Georgian media reported that he was known to the victim.

Human rights groups have linked the killings to the new anti-LGBT law, saying the government’s promotion of it has fueled hate crimes.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who opposed the new law, said the “horrific killings” raised urgent questions about hate crimes and racism.

The law from the government of Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze severely restricts the rights of LGBT people.

It introduced a ban on same-sex marriage, gender-affirming surgery, heterosexual adoption and the promotion of same-sex relationships in schools.

The bill passed parliament on Tuesday by a vote of 84-0, despite criticism from rights groups.

The ruling party said the bill “Protection of Family Values ​​and Minors” was designed to protect the majority of Georgians who want protection from “LGBT propaganda”.

But local LGBT rights campaigners say the government has used homophobic and transphobic language and ideas in promoting the bill.

Many activists directly link what they say are the government’s dangerous statements to Ms. Abramidze’s murder.

One of the first public figures in the country, he represented Georgia in international competitions and has more than 500,000 followers on social media.

“Homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia have become central to official government discourse,” said local human rights group the Social Justice Center.

“The killing of Kesaria Abramidze cannot be viewed separately from this crisis,” it added.

Progressive politicians outside the country have also linked the killings to the government’s legislative agenda.

“Those who sow hatred will reap violence. Kesaria Abramidze was killed just one day after the Georgian parliament passed an anti-LGBTI law,” wrote German lawmaker Michael Roth, chairman of the country’s social democratic foreign affairs committee.

The figures of the European Union had already criticized this law when it was passed earlier this week, saying that it jeopardizes the country’s intention to join the EU.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said the law “derails the country from its EU path”. He called on the Georgian government to withdraw the law.

The law undermines “fundamental human rights” and increases racism and discrimination, he added.

The British ambassador also expressed “deep concern”.

Rights groups have characterized Georgia’s law as similar to Russian laws that threaten LGBT rights.

Washington-based think tank Freedom House said the bill was “right out of the Kremlin’s playbook”.