Growing crackdown on Russia's LGBT+ community: first convictions under extremist law issued

In November of the previous year, Russian officials declared the "international LGBT+ movement" as extremist. Since then, the visibility of the queer community in Russia has been threatened. Even though the government did not explicitly outline which actions are forbidden, LGBT+ activism in Russia has virtually become impossible. Following the onset of the war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has been striving to push "traditional values." The President is explicitly disseminating anti-LGBT+ propaganda.

The courts have issued the first convictions associated with what the Russian government has named the "international social movement LGBT+." On January 25th, a court in the southern region of Volgograd declared Artem P. guilty of posting a photo of an LGBT+ flag online. He was fined 1000 rubles (approximately $13) for "displaying symbols of an extremist organization". The Russian government declared that the man "admitted his guilt and expressed regret, claiming that he posted the picture out of naivety".

Subsequently, on January 29th, a court in Nizhny Novgorod, east of Moscow, sentenced a woman to five days of administrative detention for wearing earrings designed as a frog with a rainbow image. The information about the incident was shared on social media by Aegis, a group of activists advocating for LGBT+ rights. According to them, the woman was summoned to the precinct after a man filmed her earrings and published the recording online.

The rainbow flag is an emblem representing the queer community. A Russian law enacted in November of the previous year forbids the "display of symbols" of groups the government categorizes as extreme.

Source: "The Guardian"