Participating in the activities of an extremist organization can result in a prison sentence of up to 12 years. It is unclear what Russia defines as the activities of the “international LGBT movement”.
The Russian Ministry of Justice demands the banning of the “international LGBT movement” as an extremist organization, the news site Meduza says.
The Ministry of Justice says on its website that it has filed a case with the Supreme Court of Russia. The court is scheduled to hear the case on November 30.
The LGBT movement refers to the human rights movement of sexual and gender minorities. It is unclear what Russia defines as the activities of the “international LGBT movement”.
Opposition movement and Facebook “extremist organizations”
Movements defined as fringe organizations are prohibited in Russia in all their forms. Participating in the activities of an extremist organization can result in a prison sentence of up to 12 years, says the news website RFE/RL.
Russian authorities have arbitrarily applied extremist organization laws against their political opponents.
Among the movements defined as extremist organizations are, for example, the terrorist organizations al-Qaeda and Isis, but also a politician To Alexei Navalny the opposition movement, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
Navalnyi was sentenced to 19 years in prison in August for, among other things, founding an extremist organization.
“Gay propaganda” was already banned years ago
Russia has been discriminating against sexual and gender minorities for years.
The so-called gay propaganda law has previously prohibited reporting about sexual and gender minorities in a positive and neutral tone in public.
The law was enacted in 2013 to limit content intended for children. In 2022, after the war of aggression, the law was expanded to cover all publications.
With the reform of the law, public activism has withered, and some organizations and activists have moved abroad.
Russian bookstores and libraries have had to remove books about sexual and gender minorities. Sections referring to homosexuality have also been ordered to be removed from TV series and games.