TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russia’s Supreme Court effectively outlawed LGBTQ+ activism on Thursday, the most drastic step against advocates of gay, lesbian and transgender rights in the increasingly conservative country.
Ruling in response to a lawsuit filed by the Justice Ministry, the court labeled what the suit called the LGBTQ+ “movement” operating in Russia as an extremist organization and banned it.
The ruling is the latest step in a decade-long crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights in Russia under President Vladimir Putin, who has emphasized “traditional family values” during his 24 years in power.
Thursday’s closed-door hearing lasted four hours. No one besides Justice Ministry representatives were allowed in, and there was no defendant. Journalists were taken into the courtroom only for the reading of the verdict by Judge Oleg Nefedov, who wore a face mask, apparently for health reasons.
The case was classified, and the ministry didn’t disclose any evidence, saying only that authorities had identified “signs and manifestations of an extremist nature” in the movement it seeks to ban, including “incitement of social and religious discord.”
Multiple rights activists have noted the lawsuit was lodged against a movement that is not an official entity, and that under its broad and vague definition, Russian authorities could crack down on any individuals or groups deemed to be part of it.
“In practice, it could happen that the Russian authorities, with this court ruling in hand, will enforce (the ruling) against LGBTQ+ initiatives that work in Russia, considering them a part of this civic movement,” said Max Olenichev, a human rights lawyer who works with the Russian LGBTQ+ community, contacted by The Associated Press before the ruling.
The lawsuit targets activists and effectively prohibits any organized activity to defend the rights of LGBTQ+ people, Olenichev added.
Multiple Russian independent media outlets and rights groups added rainbow symbols to their logos on social media in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.
Amnesty International called the ruling “shameful and absurd,” warning it could lead to a blanket ban on LGBTQ+ organizations, violate freedom of association, expression and peaceful assembly, and lead to discrimination.
“It will affect countless people, and its repercussions are poised to be nothing short of catastrophic,” said Marie Struthers, the group’s director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
A Russian Orthodox Church spokesman praised the ruling, telling the state-run RIA Novosti news agency that it was “a form of moral self-defense by society” from efforts to push “the Christian idea of marriage and family from the public and legal realms.”
The Justice Ministry has not commented.
Before the ruling, leading Russian human rights groups filed a document with the court that called the lawsuit “anti-lawful,” discriminatory and a violation of the constitution and international human rights treaties that Moscow has signed. Some LGBTQ+ activists said they tried to become a party to the lawsuit but were rebuffed by the court.
“We tried to find some legal logic in this absurdity,” said Igor Kochetkov, a human rights advocate and founder of the Russian LGBT Network rights group.
