Transgender woman dies six weeks after being beaten up

A transgender woman who was brutally beaten up with a concrete bar last month has died from her injuries. The attack on Zizi Shekeladze, during which her throat was cut, left her unconscious and on life support. She was standing at a bus stop in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi late at night when she was attacked, the Gay Star Times reported. She has died after a month of being in intensive care, a lawyer from the Women’s Initiative Support Group said. Her friend Eka Jamagidze said: ‘My transgender friends, please be careful. ‘I loved you very much and I do not want your loss. I hope that the prosecutors will be on the right trail.’ A group of organisations have labelled the incident a hate crime, Georgia Today reported. A statement said: ‘Fundamental defects in the justice system, and the absolute non- existence of equality laws in Georgia country have created an environment of impunity and transformed the LGBT community as the most marginalized social group in the country.’ A man suspected of the attack, Giorgi Murjikneli, has been charged with attempted murder.