LGBT+ campaigners in Georgia called off a pride march on July 5 after violent groups opposed to the event stormed and ransacked their office in the capital Tbilisi and targeted activists and journalists.

Georgia's interior ministry had previously called on the organisers to cancel the Pride march due to safety concerns, while Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashviil described the event as "unacceptable for a large segment of the Georgian society".

The Georgian Orthodox Church also called for a public prayer meeting against the Pride event.

Activist groups said the government had failed to offer security to activists and journalists and was "responsible for yesterday’s violence".

Chair of the Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus and Co-Chair of the EU-Georgia Parliamentary Association Committee, MEP Marina Kaljurand told the Accent on Tuesday that “yesterday’s events regrettably cast a shadow on the Georgian authorities’ declared ambition to apply for EU membership by 2024.”

“To be taken seriously, they will have to implement the 19 April agreement thoroughly but also the EU membership criteria known as Copenhagen criteria that include i.a. having stable, democratic institutions guaranteeing the rights of minorities - this includes the LGBQI persons’ constitutional rights to participate in peaceful gathering,” MEP Kaljurand said.

According to her, “there is an urgent need not only to commit themselves to provide adequate security, but also to condemn firmly mounting homophobic rhetoric in the run-up to the Pride.”

“LGBTQI community may be a minority in Georgia but they are entitled to protection by the law enforcement agencies,” she added.

53 journalists and cameramen were injured in yesterday’s violence.

President Salome Zurabishvili, who visited the injured journalists, said the violence was a "violation of the core fabric of Georgia".

"What happened is not the Georgia I know. It's not the Georgia based on its core values of tolerance,” she said.

Several Western embassies in Georgia issued a joint statement condemning the attack and calling on authorities to ensure freedom of expression and assembly.