Russia\u2019s Supreme Court has declared what it called the \u201cinternational LGBTQ movement\u201d an extremist organization and banned all activities associated with it in the country. <\/p>\n
The landmark ruling on Thursday is set to further erode the rights of Russia\u2019s LGBTQ community, who have faced an intensifying crackdown in recent years, as President Vladimir Putin seeks to shore up his image as defender of traditional moral values against the liberal West. <\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s highest court found in favour of a motion filed by the Ministry of Justice which claimed the LGBTQ community risked\u00a0\u201cinciting social and religious discord\u201d, in violation of Russia\u2019s Law on Countering Extremism, according to a statement from the UN condemning the decision. <\/p>\n
While there is no legally recognized LGBTQ community in Russia under the country\u2019s discriminatory anti-gay law, Thursday\u2019s ruling states:\u00a0\u201cThe claims are to be satisfied: to recognize the international LGBT movement as an extremist organization and to prohibit its activities in Russia,\u201d according to state news agency RIA Novosti. <\/p>\n
The four-hour hearing was held behind closed doors with only the Justice Ministry present for the proceedings and materials classified. RIA Novosti reports the decision is effective immediately. <\/p>\n
Two weeks ago, the Justice Ministry said on its official website it had initiated legal proceedings to designate the \u2018international LGBT social movement\u2019 as an extremist organization and seek its prohibition in Russia. <\/p>\n
The ministry did not elaborate on what it meant by the \u201cmovement.\u201d <\/p>\n
In the statement Thursday, the UN said it \u201cdeplores\u201d the ruling and warned that it could leave \u201cmembers, employees and people engaging with such organisations\u201d at risk of criminal charges and imprisonment. <\/p>\n
Under Russian legislation, an organisation designated as extremist faces immediate dissolution, and its leaders face charges of up to 10 years in prison, according to the UN Human Rights Chief. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis decision exposes human rights defenders and anyone standing up for the human rights of LGBT people to being labelled as \u2019extremist\u2019 \u2013 a term that has serious social and criminal ramifications in Russia,\u201d the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker T\u00fcrk said. <\/p>\n
Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993, but homophobia and discrimination is still rife. <\/p>\n
In recent years, the Kremlin has introduced or expanded on a raft of anti-LGBTQ laws, a conservative shift that has intensified following the invasion of Ukraine. Presidential elections are due next year, with Putin widely expected to extend his rule. <\/p>\n
In July this year, Russia passed a law banning doctors from conducting gender reassignment surgeries, except in cases related to treating congenital physiological anomalies, in children. <\/p>\n
In December 2022, Putin signed into law a bill that expanded a ban on\u00a0so-called LGBTQ \u201cpropaganda\u201d in Russia, making it illegal for anyone to promote same-sex relationships or suggest that non-heterosexual orientations are \u201cnormal.\u201d <\/p>\n
The package of amendments signed by Putin included heavier penalties for anyone promoting \u201cnon-traditional sexual relations and\/or preferences,\u201d as well as gender transition. <\/p>\n
The new law was an extension of legislation introduced in 2013, which banned the dissemination of LGBTQ-related information to minors. <\/p>\n\n
Russia\u2019s Supreme Court has declared what it called the \u201cinternational LGBTQ movement\u201d an extremist organization and banned all activities associated with it in the country. The landmark ruling on Thursday is set to further erode the rights of Russia\u2019s LGBTQ community, who have faced an intensifying crackdown in recent years, as President Vladimir Putin seeks <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":12305,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12304","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}