| Kesaria Abramidze | |
| Native Name: | კესარია აბრამიძე |
| Birth Date: | 18 August 1987 |
| Birth Place: | Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR |
| Death Place: | Tbilisi, Georgia |
| Death Cause: | Murder by stabbing |
| Native Name Lang: | ka |
Kesaria Abramidze (Georgian: კესარია აბრამიძე; 18 August 1987 – 18 September 2024) was a Georgian blogger, actress, and model. She was the first openly transgender person in the country to make an appearance on national television. She is widely considered a trailblazer for Georgia’s trans rights.[1]
Abramidze was born in Tbilisi on 18 August 1987.[2] Before transitioning, Abramidze's genetic material was frozen outside the country.[3] She announced that she had undergone gender-affirming surgery in 2014, appearing the following year in an underwear advertisement.
Abramidze was a guest on several shows, including the television series Psychopath Games and Davit Kovziridze's show Zhure Katsat.[4] Abramidze participated in the Miss Trans Global beauty pageant and represented Georgia.[5] She later became the host of First House on Rustavi 2.[6] She became an influencer and had over half a million followers on Instagram.
Abramidze was found murdered on 18 September 2024 at her home on the outskirts of Tbilisi, just one day after the Parliament of Georgia passed the Georgian LGBT propaganda bill. She was 37.[7] [8] Michael Roth, the chairman of Bundestag's Committee on International Relations, directly connected Abramidze's murder to the new anti-LGBTQ+ law and Social Justice Center stated that "political homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia have become central to the government's official discourse and ideology".[9] The murder caused shock in the country and was condemned by the Georgian ombudsman, Levan Ioseliani; the country's president, Salome Zourabichvili, who proposed that it should be a wake-up call for society as a whole and murder should not go unpunished; and by the spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office.[10] [11]
The next day, a 26-year-old person was arrested at Kutaisi International Airport, who was allegedly in a relationship with the model and had previously threatened her. In a post in April of that same year, Abramidze had already reported both physical and psychological abuse by her partner.[12] Her civil funeral took place on 22 September 2024 and was attended by President Zourabichvili.[13]