Following the removal of the Caucuses nation of Georgia from Belgium’s list of safe countries, Georgian political refugees and persecuted minorities have started travelling to Belgium in search of protection.
In a royal decree published on 7 April, the Belgian Ministry of the Interior labelled the country as unsafe based on the guidance of the UN General Commissioner for Refugees and Stateless Persons, which highlighted the rapid deterioration of democratic institutions, human rights, and compliance with norms.
As a result, Belgium automatically considers asylum applications from Georgia to be valid, promising a faster asylum process than for countries considered “safe” by the government.
The human rights situation in Georgia has deteriorated significantly in recent years, especially for Georgia’s LGBTQ+ community. Far-right activists have launched a series of attacks against gay rights organisations, activists, and events, with relatively little push-back from the Georgian government.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has been seen to take sides against peaceful gay rights activists, who have been repeatedly set upon by thousands of Russia-linked far-right extremists, downplaying attacks on Tbilisi's annual pride parade and siding with violent protests in 2021. Attacks against LGBTQ+ activists have since intensified, with police seemingly siding with ultra-conservative protestors against queer rights organisations. Queer youth are now fleeing the country.
Lucas Ablotia, one of the organisers of Tbilisi Pride and a prominent LGBTQ+ activist in Georgia, says that his life would be at risk if he remained in Georgia. For his activism, Ablotia has faced violent physical attacks, death threats, attacks against his home, and concerted abuse against him in the Georgian media.
Now in Belgium where Ablotia is claiming asylum, the young activist told The Brussels Times of the pressure and repression he experienced back home. The Georgian arrived in Brussels on 30 July.
Public attacks and death threats
“They shared my addresses on social media. Everyone knew where I lived and they threw bottles at my door. They put dog crap and dead rats at my door with letters saying that they were going to kill me… I had to change house three times because my neighbours and the government are very homophobic.”
Ablotia was first attacked at the age of 17. In a case that received wide-spread media attention, the young activist was accosted on the bus for simply wearing his shirt unbuttoned. An aggressive Georgian man confronted Ablotia and made threats, which quickly escalated to violence.
Ablotia, then a journalism student, suffered a barrage of homophobic abuse and death threats. Other Georgian men joined the assault, pushing and punching him before hitting him in the head with a bottle. When police arrived, passengers blamed Ablotia for the fight despite footage to the contrary.
In the last year, attacks on the young queer rights activist have become even more severe. Ablotia was recognised by far-right thugs on the metro, who violently ganged up on him in the middle of the day.
"I had a mask on but they recognised me anyway. One man who was part of a radical group started insulting me, threatening me… He tried to hit me. I took out my pepper spray and told him to get back. He came straight at me and called for others to support him."
Spilling onto the platform, around six people set upon Ablotia. After eventually escaping to the police, officers ultimately refused to arrest the person who attacked Ablotia. When journalists arrived to cover the incident, police allegedly escorted the attacker, a member of the clergy, to safety.
Alt-Info, a Russia-backed ultra-conservative TV channel and political party, has openly called for the death of Ablotia. Many of the attacks that the activist has suffered have been at the hands of followers of this far-right group. In the clips, they refer to Ablotia as a "F****t.
No escape
Ablotia says that the Georgian government is homophobic and that he has been politically repressed for his activism. For two months, he and fellow activists protested anti-LGBTQ+ policies in front of the national parliament. He says he was followed by Georgian secret police.
During far-right attacks on Tbilisi Pride, Ablotia says that police dumped him and fellow activists in the woods. Returning home, he found three men waiting to ambush him by his front door. This incident was the straw that broke the camel’s back and Ablotia decided to seek asylum abroad.
Before leaving Georgia, Ablotia was not aware of the Belgian government's decision to remove his country from its safe list. But he welcomes the move, highlighting the deteriorating safety for sexual minorities and political opposition: “It was never a safe place for LGBT communities. It’s still very dangerous.”
Even arriving in Brussels, Ablotia cannot fully escape persecution. Getting off a bus at Brussels Nord Station, he was recognised by a Georgian man who threatened and insulted him. Brussels police officers advised him to avoid the area around the train station.
Queer youth flee to Belgium
Belgium's decision regarding Georgian asylum seekers has led members of the Georgian political opposition to voice concerns that this may trigger a domino effect across the EU, ultimately resulting in a new mechanism to revoke Georgia’s visa-free access to Europe.
In a comment to The Brussels Times, Georgia expert Jelger Groeneveld said that this visa-free status could potentially be lost if there is a sudden influx of asylum cases from Georgia to Belgium. Asylum applications per capita is already higher in Belgium than in neighbouring countries – Georgia was the 8th most common point of origin for asylum seekers to Belgium last year, accounting for 840 applications.
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Ablotia believes that many queer people and fellow activists will travel to Belgium in the coming months: “More will come. I think it’s going to be a really big wave after wave of refugees because nobody wants to stay there.” But he expressed concern that the asylum system would be abused by some Georgians for economic migration.
In Brussels, the young Georgian is busy. Belgium’s asylum procedure is infamously slow and he expects a wait of many months. In the meantime, Ablotia plans to continue his activism in Brussels and speak with EU officials on behalf of Georgia’s repressed LGBTQ+ community.
“I want to visit with MEPs, to talk with them about what’s going on in Georgia. I want to propose solutions," Ablotia said. "I am going to start demonstrating in front of the European Parliament to ask to sanction radical groups in Georgia… You must always fight, never turn a blind eye, and always believe in the value of democracy and human rights.”
