A Russian court has ordered a bar administrator and its art director to be placed in custody, accusing them of organising an “extremist organisation” under new legislation criminalising the LGBTQ community. They will remain in custody until May 18 and face up to 10 years in prison, according to the court in southwestern Russia.
This is the first criminal case of its kind since Russia banned the so-called “international LGBT movement” in November, amid an accelerating crackdown on the community.
“The court chose a preventive measure for the art director and administrator of the Pose bar,” the Orenburg tribunal said.
The tribunal earlier accused the two suspects of “promoting non-traditional sexual relations among the visitors of the bar”.
Law enforcement had raided the bar in March, and videos of humiliating detentions of some of the club visitors circulated online.
“The accused, people of non-traditional sexual orientation, acted in premeditation with a group of people… who also support the views and activities of the international public association LGBT,” the court said on Telegram.
Russia has publicly only put out a vague description of what it calls the “international LGBT movement”, paving the way for the prosecution of anyone protecting LGBTQ+ rights or simply identifying with the community.
“What LGBTQ persons and human rights activists have feared since the end of last year has finally come to pass,” Amnesty International said.
The arrests come amid an ultra-conservative turn that has accelerated in recent years.
Lawmakers in 2013 banned people from promoting “non-traditional” relationships to children and have piled pressure on liberal corners of society since.
In December 2022, Putin widened the 2013 law to criminalise any positive public mention of LGBTQ+ people or relationships.
In July of last year lawmakers then banned medical intervention and administrative procedures that allowed people to change gender.
And in November the Supreme Court passed the “LGBT movement” ban, under which there have been several administrative proceedings, resulting in fines and short detentions.
“The international community must call on Russian authorities to review the homophobic Supreme Court ruling and immediately stop persecution of LGBTI persons,” Amnesty added.
