The actor, influencer, and model was the first in Georgia to publicly come out as a transperson. She represented her country in an international beauty pageant for transpeople in 2018 and had 500,000 followers on Instagram.
The police have arrested a suspect for the murder – identified by Georgian media as her boyfriend.
According to the authorities, the murder is seen as "premeditated" and brutal. Questions about gender identity are said to be an aggravating circumstance.
President Salome Zurabishvili – who is on a collision course with the ruling party – is one of those who condemn the murder.
The new law prohibits gender-affirming care in the country. Homosexuals and transpeople are also prohibited from adopting, and same-sex Georgian couples who got married abroad will have their marriages annulled in their home country.
