Thousands of meetings in Georgia after the death of a photographer on TV | Georgia Stories

Alexander Lashkarava was one of several journalists beaten up while covering up LGBTQ terrorists last week.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Georgia’s capital after a cameraman, one of several journalists, was beaten during an attack on LGBTQ activists in Tbilisi this week.

LGBTQ activists in the South Caucasus in Georgia have banned their movement on Monday after violent opposition groups stormed and destroyed their office in Tbilisi and attacked protesters and journalists.

Cameraman Alexander Lashkarava, 36, who was beaten in the incident, was found dead in his home by his mother, TV Pirveli, the way he worked, he said Sunday. It did not specify the cause of death.

Thousands of protesters gathered outside Parliament and the Georgian main party office on Sunday to call on the Prime Minister and Interior Minister to step down as a result of Lashkarava’s violence and death.

Elene Khoshtaria, an opposition politician, sprayed red paint on the doorstep of a government building in protest.

Lashkarava’s death has angered Georgia’s human rights activists, who have blamed the authorities for inciting hostilities and failing to protect journalists and LGBTQ activists from harm.

The Interior Ministry said it was investigating Lashkarava’s death, but did not say what caused it

Journalists attend a memorial service in Lashkarava [Irakli Gedenidze/Reuters]

The ministry later said that “Lashkarava’s activities” were illegally banned and threatened with violence “during a crackdown on LGBTQ supporters.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili wrote on Twitter on Sunday that he had visited the Lashkarava family.

“What has happened is tragic and I am sending my condolences to all journalists and to the whole of Georgia,” he wrote. “It must be investigated and those who take action should be punished.”

More than 50 journalists have been targeted for violence, police said on Monday, prompting Western nations to call on Georgia to demand freedom of speech and assembly.

The proud procession, which had been suspended earlier, criticized the church and law enforcement officials, while Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said the procession was in danger of resolving public disputes.

More than 50 journalists were harassed in the violence last week [Irakli Gedenidze/Reuters]