The Russian Justice Ministry announced on Friday that it had requested a ban on the “international LGBT movement” due to extremism and that a hearing on the matter was scheduled for the 30th of this month at the Supreme Court.
In a brief statement, the ministry did not specify whether the target is the movement defending the rights of gender identity and sexual orientation minorities in general, or whether it is one or more specific organizations, seeing the measure as the latest coup against the LGBTQ community in an increasingly conservative country.
In the statement, the ministry said authorities had identified “signs and expressions of an extremist nature” in the “activities of the active LGBT movement” in Russia, including “incitement to social and religious discord.”
It’s also unclear whether the “extremist” label will mean exactly the same for LGBTQ people in Russia, should the Supreme Court rule in favor of the Justice Department.
But the measure itself, according to the Associated Press (AP) news agency, represents the latest and by far the most drastic step in the suppression of homosexual rights in Russia.
The repression has been going on for ten years and was unleashed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who placed ‘traditional family values’ at the foundation of his government.
Source: DN
