Human Rights Watch researcher Tanya Cooper writes: Dispatches: Jail Time for Being Gay in Russia Russia is again making media headlines for all the wrong reasons. On January 19, parliament will hold the first reading of another abusive homophobic law, which proposes jailing people for public displays of non-heterosexual orientation or gender identity. The bill was first … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Sochi
LGBT Russians are a focus of new crisis-reporting project
Violations of the human rights of LGBT people in Russia and other former Soviet nations will be the focus of a pilot reporting project over the next three months, with support from a $35,000 crowdfunding campaign. Already, according to the startup media enterprise known as Coda Story, “we have writers, videographers, and photographers in Moscow, … Continue reading
Olympic Committee won’t object to Russian LGBT arrests
BuzzFeed reports: “The International Olympic Committee has said Russia was acting in accordance with its laws when police detained 14 protesters in Moscow and St Petersburg on the day of the Olympic opening ceremonies. Some of those held in Moscow report being beaten while in police custody. ” ‘We understand that the protesters were quickly … Continue reading
LGBT rights protesters in Moscow: They beat, abused us
LGBT rights protesters who were arrested today in Moscow say they were beaten and threatened with sexual abuse while in custody. According to BuzzFeed: The website OVDinfo.org, which tracks detentions in Russia, reported that the Russians in detention include Elena Kostyuchenko, Anna Anenkova Gleb Warrior, Lynne Reid, Olga Mazurova, Knicks Nemeni Tarja Polyakova, and Daria … Continue reading
Russian police spy on LGBT activists, arrest 14
Russian police, who seemingly have a bug or an informant reporting on LGBT activists’ plans, arrested a total of 14 activists in St. Petersburg and Moscow during today’s opening of the Sochi Winter Olympics. AP reported from St. Petersburg: Russian police have arrested four gay rights activists protesting [Friday, Feb. 7] in St. Petersburg on … Continue reading
Global conflict: Gay rights, repression (1. Russia; 2. More)
As pro-LGBT-rights protests and anti-LGBT initiatives continue in dozens of countries, here’s a sampling of the news and commentary about what’s going on. Russia coverage is below. Coming soon, a sampling of coverage of events in Africa, the Caribbean, and about the work of international faith-based activism. OPPOSITION TO RUSSIA’S ANTI-GAY LAWS United Nations group … Continue reading
St. Petersburg joins world protests for LGBT rights
As international protests continue against Russia’s anti-gay crackdown, Russia’s Straight Alliance for LGBT Equality gathered in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Feb. 5 to to seek repeal of the country’s national and regional laws against “gay propaganda.” Protests, many of them coordinated by the online activist group AllOut, were held or are planned in New York, … Continue reading
London protest would link Sochi, world’s anti-gay laws
Best wishes to artist/activist Vince Laws, who hopes to stage another face-paint protest of 76-plus countries’ anti-gay laws — this time in London in February during the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, where the crackdown on LGBT people continues. His proposal on Facebook: I’d like to create BANNED in London in February 2014 to coincide … Continue reading
Obamas will skip Sochi, send LGBT athletes instead
U.S. President Obama sent a message today to Russian Vladimir Putin. In an implicit response to Russia’s crackdown on its LGBT community and the country’s blatant disregard of human rights, as well as the two countries’ foreign policy disputes, Obama, his wife and Vice President Joe Biden will not attend the upcoming Winter Olympics in … Continue reading
First conviction under Russia’s ‘gay propaganda’ law
Two LGBT activists were convicted and fined on Dec. 3 in a Russian lower court on charges of promoting “non-traditional” relationships. It was the first such conviction under the country’s new “gay propaganda law,” BuzzFeed reported, citing The Moscow Times. As BuzzFeed reported: Nikolai Alexeyev, the founder of Moscow Pride, and Yaroslav Yevtushenko were each … Continue reading
