Russia misusing justice system as a tool in "draconian crusade" to marginalize and censor LGBT people, rights group says

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39206547

• Russian courts have issued over 100 convictions for “extremism” for participating in the “International LGBT Movement” or displaying its alleged symbols.
• Russian authorities weaponize and misuse the justice system as a tool in their draconian crusade to enforce “traditional values” and marginalize and censor LGBT people.
• Russia’s international interlocutors should call on the Kremlin to end its persecution of LGBT people and their supporters; governments should provide safe haven and meaningful protection to those fleeing Russia for fear of prosecution.

Russian courts have issued 101 “extremism”-related convictions for allegedly participating in the “International LGBT Movement” or displaying its alleged symbols, Human Rights Watch said [...]

The prosecutions, approximately 98 of them for administrative, or minor misdemeanor, offenses and three for criminal liability, demonstrate Russian authorities’ determination to penalize, persecute, and silence lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and their supporters.

In 2023, Russia’s Supreme Court designated the “International Public LGBT Movement” an “extremist” organization: a legal and factual mischaracterization of a diverse, decentralized global human rights cause. The ruling entered into force in January 2024, opening the floodgates for arbitrary prosecutions of individuals who are LGBT or perceived to be, along with anyone who defends their rights or expresses solidarity with them.

“Russian authorities weaponize and misuse the justice system as a tool in their draconian crusade to enforce ‘traditional values’ and marginalize and censor LGBT people,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “They are flagrantly violating Russians’ rights to free expression, association, and nondiscrimination.”

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