16:53, 17 May 2014

Tbilisi: policemen clash with opponents of same-sex marriage (+video)

Anti-gay rally in Tbilisi, May 17, 2014. Screenshot from the ‘Caucasian Knot’ video.

Today, in the capital of Georgia, during a protest action against the anti-discrimination law, which prohibits harassment, including of people with non-traditional sexual orientation, a conflict burst out of the protesters with the police.

In the morning, opponents of the above anti-discrimination law gathered in Tbilisi outside the building in the State Philharmonic Hall; there were a few hundreds of them, the "InterPressNews" reports.

The protesters exposed posters reading: "Authorities should stop propaganda of immorality!" and "We demand to abolish the anti-discrimination law!"

While marching from the Philharmonic Hall to the Holy Trinity Cathedral, the crowd almost completely blocked the traffic in Rustaveli Avenue and clashed with the police. One of the protesters was detained.

Let us remind you that the above law was adopted by the Georgian Parliament on May 2. On May 8, it was signed by President Giorgi Margvelashvili. The law prohibits discrimination on any grounds. Protest actions against the law were held in Georgia before, during and after its adoption of the anti-discrimination law.