Police Vow to Protect Pride Week Launch

The Interior Ministry said it will take “appropriate measures” to ensure safety, order and that people can exercise their right to freedom of expression and assembly during today’s Pride Week opening. 

Hotly-contested Tbilisi Pride Week opens with a screening of March for Dignity, a feature-length documentary on LGBTQ rights activists in Georgia. The Interior Ministry said the authorities are in continuous communication with the organizers. 

Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, Patrol Police Chief Vazha Siradze and other representatives of the Ministry also discussed with each other the future events planned for Pride Week, the statement noted. 

The Ministry has not yet elaborated on the preventive measures it plans to take for the upcoming, July 5 March for Dignity that the far-right and ultraconservative groups plan to rally against.

Read more on Pride Week:

• President Defends Tbilisi Pride
• Diplomatic Missions Urge Gov’t to Protect Pride Activists
• Orthodox Church Speaks Out Against Pride Week
• MEPs Call on Gov’t to Protect Tbilisi Pride Activists
• GD Chair Kobakhidze Says Holding Pride Week Irresponsible

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