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January 30, 2007
This is most interesting.
The organizers of the 2006 Moscow Pride parade (during which marchers and gay rights activists were attacked and beaten by protestors and Moscow police) are going to have their say in court.
Story from PinkNews UK.
Moscow Pride 2007 will take place on Sunday May 27, marking the day in 1993 when homosexuality was decriminalised in Russia.
Last
year over 120 people, including a German MP, were arrested during the
chaotic scenes as gay campaigners from all over the world converged in
the Russian capital.
They were met by religious and nationalist
protesters chanting anti-gay slogans and 1,000 riot police with orders
to stop demonstrations in Red Square.
Arrests were made after a
group of activists, including Mr Alexeyev, attempted to lay flowers at
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a war memorial, equating the struggle
for gay rights with fighting fascism.
Eyewitnesses said gay activists were beaten by protesters.
The
20-page application to the European Court of Human Rights concerns two
seperate issues: the ban by Moscow authorities of the gay pride march
and the banning of the alternative Pride picket, both scheduled for May
27, 2006.
In the application, Pride organisers claim that in
denying permission to stage both the march and the picket, the Russian
Federation breached Article 11 (right to freedom of peaceful assembly),
Article 13 (right to effective court protection) and Article 14
(discrimination ban) in conjunction with Article 11 of the European
Convention on Human Rights, to which Russia is a signatory.
The
application sent to Strasbourg today explains the legal position of the
organisers, and asks the court to rule that the decisions of Russian
authorities to ban the march and the picket contradict both Russian
legislation and the European Convention.
Organisers of Moscow
Pride have given the court a range of evidence that suggests the real
reason behind the ban is the personal homophobia of mayor Yuri Luzhkov.
Organisers
of the Pride want the European Court to find that the Russian
Federation breached their rights and are asking for 20,000 euros
(£13,000) in compensation.
"In trying to silence us, the
Russian authorities denied us one of the fundamental human rights.
European justice will have the last say in this case," said Mr
Alexeyev.
Let's hope so.
January 30, 2007 | Permalink
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Comments
The issues of gays in Moscow is becoming very interesting. The right has taken over and now the country can be compared to Nazis. How long will it take them to get back to Jews and gypsies?
DonPato
http://moscowgay.info/
Posted by: DonPato | Mar 28, 2007 8:43:00 PM
Good post.
Posted by: Ownah | Oct 28, 2008 6:17:31 AM
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