Tuesday, December 21, 2021

European Court Says Anti-LGBT Mob Led By Priest and Others Violated European Convention

In Women's Initiatives Supporting Group and Others v. Georgia, (ECHR, Dec. 16, 2021), the European Court of Human Rights in a Chamber Judgment held that Georgia's failure to protect LGBT demonstrators from mob violence violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 3 prohibits "inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."  Demonstrators who were marking International Day Against Homophobia were met with violent counter-demonstrators from a so-called Prayer Rally led in part by a prominent clergyman of the Georgian Orthodox Church. Counter demonstrators included priests and parishes from various churches in Tbilisi. The Court issued a press release summarizing the decision.