Russia: Supreme Court bans “LGBT movement” for extremism

Russia is further intensifying its repression. This Thursday, the Russian Supreme Court banned the “international” LGBT+ movement for “extremism.” Thus, this opens the way to legal proceedings and imprisonment against homosexuals and activists defending their rights in Russia. The decision comes amid an ultra-conservative, anti-LGBTQ+ shift. Russia today positions itself as the standard bearer of “traditional” values ​​in the face of the perceived decline of the West.

This policy accelerated after the Russian army attacked Ukraine in late February 2022. It led to repression against all forms of criticism of the Kremlin. Judge Oleg Nefedov ordered “to recognize the international LGBT movement and its subsidiaries as extremist and to ban their activities on the territory of the Russian Federation.” He clarified that this ban came into force “immediately.”

The hearing, the first in this case, lasted only a few hours and took place without a lawyer – an organization with that name does not exist in Russia – and behind closed doors, since the case was classified as “secret”. “Only a representative of the Russian Ministry of Justice is participating in the hearing; no one spoke from the defense,” the Supreme Court was told by state news agency RIA Novosti earlier in the day.

In mid-November, the Russian Ministry of Justice asked to qualify it as an “extremist organization” and to ban the “international LGBT movement,” without clearly indicating which organization it was aimed at, thereby paving the way for a ban on any movement defending these organizations. causes. Any public activity associated with what Russia considers “non-traditional” sexual preferences can now be punished for “extremism,” a crime punishable by harsh prison terms.

“There is no limit to cannibalism. It happened. Someday all this will end, but for now we must continue to live and try to preserve ourselves,” the Russian association “Feminist Resistance to War,” which supports LGBT+ rights, responded on Telegram. “In practice, the authorities could begin to open criminal cases against public figures and activists to create an atmosphere of fear,” says Maxim Olenichev, a lawyer at the NGO First Department, which helps victims of repression in Russia.

“Peak of Madness”

LGBT+ people still risk hefty fines if they are accused of “propaganda” (the term used by authorities), but not jail time. Their rights have been sharply curtailed over the past decade under the leadership of Vladimir Putin. As for the Orthodox Church, the Russian leader says he wants to exclude from the public sphere behavior that is considered deviant and borrowed from the West.

Ian Dvorkin, the founder of Center T, an NGO in Russia that helps transgender people, fled the country for fear of being accused of “extremism” and jailed for founding the group. “Work in Russia is becoming very uncertain,” he explains. It seems that those (LGBTQ+ activists) who survive will be completely hidden. “For him, this process against the “movement,” which officially does not exist in Russia, is “a new peak of madness.”

“Anyone can fall under (this charge of) extremism,” he is indignant, clarifying that “more and more people” are asking for help to leave the country. Since 2013, the law has prohibited “propaganda” of “non-traditional sexual relationships” aimed at minors, a text denounced by NGOs as a tool of homophobic repression. At the end of 2022, this law was significantly expanded. It now bans LGBT+ “propaganda” to all audiences, in the media, online, in books and films.

In July, Russian lawmakers also passed an anti-transgender law, banning them from transitioning, including surgeries and hormone therapy. Vladimir Putin also regularly launches anti-Western diatribes, which he often bases on tolerance towards LGBT+ people.