Russia continues its crusade against gays and bans the LGBT movement

The Supreme Court of Russia put the Russian homosexual community on the verge of hiding this Thursday by banning the LGBT movement, which is now considered “extremist”, a ruling that has unleashed a wave of indignation among sexual minorities.

“Recognize the international civic LGBT movement as an extremist organization and prohibit its activities on Russian territory,” ruled the judge, Oleg Nefedov, when reading the verdict.

The measure prohibits both LGBT propaganda and advertising, as well as “generating interest and encouraging joining the ranks” of said movement.

Homosexual activists and jurists responded that, according to the Constitution, Russia is a secular state and accuse the Kremlin of wanting to “control” the consciences of Russians, while instilling “traditional family values, supposedly incompatible with the activities of said movement.” .

Russian President Vladimir Putin, determined to turn his country into a moral reserve against Western relativism, recently assured that homosexuals “are also part of society,” but criticized the obsession with the equality of sexual minorities.

summary judgment

The ruling, which has “immediate effect”, “does not affect the right of citizens to private life”, since homosexuality ceased to be a crime in this country in 1993. “We will appeal the ruling not only in Russia. We will appeal to the UN human rights committee,” said exiled Yuri Kochetkov, one of the leaders of the homosexual movement in Russia, who clarified that the ban will not come into force until January 10.

The hearing took place behind closed doors and was only attended by representatives of the Ministry of Justice, which is why its detractors consider it illegal.

LGBT activists, many of whom went into exile after the start of the war in Ukraine, created the previously non-existent International LGBT Civic Movement organization at the last minute in order to defend the movement's rights, but were not invited. to the session.

The plaintiff presented evidence about the alleged “extremist tendencies” and “incitement to social and religious hatred” in the activities of said movement.

Human rights organizations addressed the Supreme Court the day before arguing that “it is impossible” to classify people who belong to a social group as a movement. “This would be as absurd as, for example, calling all pensioners or people who belong to a particular ethnic group a social movement,” they noted.

Rainbow ban?

Activists fear that the ruling will lead to the banning of popular symbols such as the rainbow and unleash a wave of hatred and violence, since, according to the latest surveys, 62% of Russians already support limiting their rights, many more than ten years ago. years.

In addition, they warn that, from now on, the organizers of any activity of the LGBT movement can be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

“We understand that this case is a preparation of the ground for political repressions (…) It is the intimidation of all those who defend a point of view different from the state, those who are capable and want to dedicate themselves to organizational activities that the State cannot control,” Kochetkov said.

The activist was convinced that the activity of any organization linked to the homosexual community will be “impossible”, so the movement will have to radically change its strategy.

Amnesty International warned this Thursday that “the consequences could be catastrophic”, since “there is a risk of reaching a total ban on LGBTI organisations”, which “will affect countless people”. “While threatening to instigate and legitimize a whole new level of violence against LGBTI people throughout Russia,” he notes.

Endless spiral of repression

A year ago Russia passed a law that completely censored LGBT propaganda, including books and movies; Last June, sex change surgical operations were banned, which caused great alarm among the transsexual community, and adoption by homosexual couples was also prohibited and same-sex marriages were annulled.

War “does not only take place on the battlefields, but also in people's consciences, in their minds and in their souls,” proclaimed Alexandr Jinstein, controversial pro-government deputy, author of the law against homosexual propaganda.

However, the Deputy Minister of Justice, André Luguinov, assured this month before the UN that in Russia there is no discrimination or persecution of the homosexual community and that the ban on their public demonstrations responds to the country's moral values.

The 2020 constitutional reform introduced the concept that marriage is a union between a man and a woman, after Putin assured that, as long as he is president, there will be no homosexual marriage in Russia.