Rsia's gays fear more vlence after btal murr | Rters

Contents:

• ‘I’M AAID FOR MY FUTURE’: PROPOSED LAWS THREATEN GAY LIFE RSIA
• LGBT HATE CRIM DOUBLE RSIA AFTER BAN ON 'GAY PROPAGANDA'
• HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH RELEAS VIO SHOWG CINTS OF ANTI-GAY VLENCE RSIA
• RSIA 'IGNORG' ANTI-GAY ATTACKS, SAYS HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
• RSIA'S GAYS FEAR MORE VLENCE AFTER BTAL MURR
• NO END TO CHECHNYA’S VLENT ANTI-GAY CAMPAIGN
• RSIA'S GAY MUNY FEAR AS HOMOPHOBIC ATTACKS CREASE
• MALE STATE: RSIA BANS GROUP FOR ANTI-WOMEN AND ANTI-GAY POSTS
• MOSW’S WAR UKRAE BROUGHT HARSH TACTICS AGAST GAY RSIANS AT HOME

‘I’M AAID FOR MY FUTURE’: PROPOSED LAWS THREATEN GAY LIFE RSIA

Speakg before Put signed the bill to the law on Monday, Tanya Loksha, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch said: “The 2013 ‘gay propaganda’ law was an unabashed example of polil homophobia, and the new draft legislatn amplifi that broar and harsher ways. In one episo of the highly-acclaimed HBO seri The Whe Lot, a Rsian streamg service changed the word "gay" to "man", eded a towel onto one male character's bare backsi and leted a gay sex scene, jt days after the law was ptn, The book Shattered, about the romance between two men, has been heavily redacted RsiaBooks, too, are beg censored. ”The anizers had good reason to be wary: Life has been challengg for gay Rsians sce the law passed, as the ernment has treated gay life as a Wtern import that is harmful to tradnal Rsian valu and Rsia’s Parliament is set to pass a legislative package that would ban all “gay propaganda, ” signalg an even more difficult perd ahead for a stigmatized segment of laws would prohib reprentatn of L.

Exprsn wh s ratnale for the war Ukrae, sistg that Rsia is fightg not jt Ukrae but all of NATO, a Wtern alliance that reprents a threat to the Put drove home that argument a speech last week, sayg that the Wt n have “dozens of genrs and gay pri paras, ” but that should not try to spread the “trends” elsewhere. Olenichev said that though the police do not track hate crim agast queer people, he and his lleagu have noticed an crease clients who have suffered inty-based attacks sce rhetoric behd anti-gay laws may have dangero nsequenc for gay Rsians, said Vladimir Komov, a lawyer wh the group Delo 2013 law was promoted as protectg children, while the new on “seek to prohib gay propaganda as a danger to the state system, ” fg as extremism, he Lunchenkov said the proposed laws uld leave gay people “aaid to go to medil clics to get treatment or ttg” for sexually transmted diseas. MOSCOW, Sept 25 (Thomson Rters Foundatn) - Receivg photos of mutilated bodi wh the warng “you’re next” rattled gay rights activist Nika Toov but when he saw surveillance men outsi his home, he fled Rsia for threats via social media me om Pila - Rsian for “saw” - a homophobic group which has said was behd the fatal stabbg July of an LGBT+ activist whose name was among a dozen on their wily-circulated assassatn “blacklist”.

LGBT HATE CRIM DOUBLE RSIA AFTER BAN ON 'GAY PROPAGANDA'

Although the police did not treat the murr as a hate crime ially, they promised to vtigate whether Pila had anythg to do wh Grigoryeva’s ath after plats om lbian gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT+) rights - which tak s name om the “Saw” Amerin horror movi - is the latt threat to shake the LGBT+ muny Rsia, where homosexualy was emed a crimal offence until 1993 and classed as a mental illns until 1999.

Vlence agast gay people and hostily om the wir muny has been on the rise sce 2013 when the Kreml adopted a gay “propaganda” law as part of a drive to fend what Print Vladimir Put lled Rsia’s “tradnal valu” mpaigners say the law has helped thori crack down on activists and ntributed to a rise anti-LGBT+ hate crim as well as police reluctance to vtigate Rsian LGBT Network, which offers legal aid to gay people, said only eight out of 64 s of physil vlence agast LGBT+ people that received 2018 were vtigated by the police headquarters, Kreml spokman Dmry Pkov and human rights missner Tatyana Moskalkova did not rpond to requts for ment.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH RELEAS VIO SHOWG CINTS OF ANTI-GAY VLENCE RSIA

ATTACKSPila has ed s webse, Instagram, Rsia’s biggt social work VK and msagg app Telegram to ll for gay Rsians to be ported, posted a list of LGBT+ activists to be assassated, and offered sh rewards for attacks on them. “They openly ll for vlence agast certa people, but law enforcement has taken no actn whatsoever, ” said Alexanr Kondakov, a soclogist at Fland’s Universy of Helski who thored a study on anti-gay hate crim Rsia. Image source, RtersThe ntroversial Rsian ban agast promotg so-lled "gay propaganda" looks set to be extend to all move reprents a tougheng of an existg 2013 law, which mak providg rmatn about beg LGBT to children a crimal nvicted face large f for promotg what Rsia lls "non-tradnal sexual relatns" ial approval of the extensn was voted through by the Rsian State Duma unanimoly.

RSIA 'IGNORG' ANTI-GAY ATTACKS, SAYS HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Unr the proposal, rmatn about "non-tradnal liftyl" or "the rejectn of fay valu" would be nsired legally the same as pornography, the promotn of vlence, or stokg racial, ethnic and relig also bans the "propaganda of paedophilia" - which the Rsian ernment often nflat wh beg gay. Another element of the extensns prohibs rmatn which might "e mors to sire to change their sex", a reference to transgenr enacted, the law would allow any rmatn on the ter discsg LGBT topics to be blocked and films emed to nta posive pictns of beg gay to be banned.

RSIA'S GAYS FEAR MORE VLENCE AFTER BTAL MURR

Khshte, an MP om Mr Put's Uned Rsia Party, told the Duma that the "special operatn" - what the Rsian ernment sists on llg s war Ukrae - is happeng "not only on the battlefield, but also the mds and souls of people" rhetoric follows that of the Rsian print, who has ma beg anti-gay a rnerstone of his domtic agenda and thorarian speech annexg four Ukraian terrori last month, Mr Put ranted about fai wh a "parent number one and a parent number two" - what has been terpreted as a cricism of same-sex fai. Rearchers said the figur are an unrtimate as many hate crim are not reported, vtigated or ‘gay propaganda’ law, which has been ed to stop gay pri march and to ta gay rights activists, is seen by many as a move by Print Vladimir Put to crack down on dissent and draw closer to the Rsian Orthodox was ranked Europe’s send least LGBT-iendly natn 2016 by ILGA-Europe, a work of European LGBT. Wh the ey of the world about to turn to the Wter Olympics Sochi, a human rights group has released a new disturbg vio highlightg vlence agast gay, lbian, transgenr and bisexual people unr Rsia's anti-gay laws that went to effect last year.

"The vio shows gay men Rsia beg punched, kicked and beaten by attackers who filmed and dissemated the footage, which was then piled by the human rights victims, the group add, "were aaid to go to the police to report vlence, fearg further harassment and believg the police would not bother to pursue their attackers. "We know mt surely ncern you, as eply ncerns all of , that sce beg selected as the host untry for the Wter Olympics, the Rsian ernment has tensified s asslt on the human rights of s lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) cizens, " the letter said, ntug:"Rsian cizens and foreigners are banned by law om publicly supportg equaly for LGBT people.

"The letter — distributed to CEOs at pani cludg Co Cola, General Electric, McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble, Samsung and Visa — urged sponsors to speak out agast Rsia’s anti-gay 'propaganda' law and ask the Internatnal Olympic Commtee (IOC) "to unrtake systemic reforms to monor and prevent human rights ab future host untri. Image source, APImage ptn, The report tailed attacks agast people om the LGBT muni across RsiaRsia's thori have failed to prevent an crease homophobic attacks, Human Rights Watch has US-based body said Rsia's learship had reacted to vlence and anti-gay rhetoric wh silence, and acced some officials of hate speech.

NO END TO CHECHNYA’S VLENT ANTI-GAY CAMPAIGN

'Lack of will'Human Rights Watch tailed ttimoni om ci across Rsia, wh reports of beatgs, abductns and public Cooper, a Rsia rearcher at Human Rights Watch, said the thori were liberately ignorg such add: "Rsian law enforcement agenci have the tools to prosecute homophobic vlence, but they lack the will to do so. "They n do whatever they want their hom, the special garbage plac lled 'gay nightclubs', they n kill themselv wh their vis as fast as possible, but they're not gog to do on the streets bee 's not pole and 's unfortable for the people. Along wh a planned new law banng the spread of gay "propaganda" among mors, Print Vladimir Put has also overseen a relig revival that aims to give the Orthodox Church, whose lear has suggted that homosexualy is one of the ma threats to Rsia, a more public role as a moral thory.

RSIA'S GAY MUNY FEAR AS HOMOPHOBIC ATTACKS CREASE

REUTERS/Alexanr DemianchA 23-year-old man Rsia’s southern cy of Volgograd was tortured and killed after revealg he was gay durg a drkg ssn last Thursday night, vtigators said, takg a rare step by lkg a murr to victim’s 22-year-old iend and a former nvict aged 27 were taed for the attack, which gay rights activists say is a btal example of risg vlence agast homosexuals the year sce Print Vladimir Put latched on to fay valu to shore up support Rsia’s largely nservative wh a planned new law banng the spread of gay “propaganda” among mors, Put has also overseen a relig revival that aims to give the Orthodox Church, whose lear has suggted that homosexualy is one of the ma threats to Rsia, a more public role as a moral rights mpaigner Nikolai Alexeyev said the draft law, which uld be passed this month, and Put’s cricism of gays for failg to help Rsia’s populatn cle, amounted to “a ll to actn for the scum who mted this crime”. Rights group Sova, which tracks extremist vlence, says vlence agast gays has risen sharply - but om only three rerd attacks 2011 to 12 there are no official figur on anti-gay crime Rsia, and gay rights mpaigners say the numbers available mask the te number of attacks on gays, lbians, bisexual and transgenr people.

MALE STATE: RSIA BANS GROUP FOR ANTI-WOMEN AND ANTI-GAY POSTS

”Lawyer Maria Kozlovskaya, who works wh the LGBT muny, pots to an ter poll late last year that found 15 percent of about 900 LGBT people surveyed Rsia said they had been physilly attacked at least once the prev 10 MUZHIK RULESGay activists say the ernment’s nservative polici offer “unspoken support” for vlence. ”He said vlent crime was not unual Volgograd, but that homophobic crime Rsian men like to be seen as a “muzhik” - which lerally means “peasant” but now nnot a tough, sgle-md man wh nservative ials who domat his men have been part of Put’s power base sce he was first elected print 2000. He has sought to rally their support sce returng to the princy a year ago, pecially after protts agast his return to the post after four years as premier, maly by middle-class liberals big support for same-sex marriage and other forms of equaly creas the Wt, Rsian gays say they face shrkg eedoms and risg vlence.

“Sce Put’s return to power ’s got worse, ” said Igor Yas, one of about 20 protters who were attacked outsi the Rsian parliament January when they tried to monstrate agast the planned bill on gay propaganda. PRODUCING CHILDRENPut says Rsia do not discrimate agast gays, but opponents say he has fostered prejudice wh public remarks that seem to set them apart as send-class Put was greeted by hundreds of rabow flag-wavg protters on a trip to the Netherlands April, he said the law would be no threat to the LGBT muny, but suggted uld help reverse a cle Rsia’s populatn, which fell to 141.

Lawmakers say those morals are reflected the proposed law agast gay “propaganda”, which uld ban the promotn of gay events, cludg gay rights march, and impose f of up 500, 000 roubl ($16, 600) on anizers. ”Rsian psychologist Igor Kon wrote that medieval tim, Rsian attus towards gays were more tolerant than those wtern Europe, but that changed durg the Soviet era, when Josef Stal ma sodomy punishable by up to five years jail. A survey by pennt pollster Levada last year found that nearly 50 percent of Rsians believe homosexuals should be given medil or psychologil treatment, and 5 percent said they should be “stroyed” attus mean life is ght wh danger for gays Rsia, opera sger Slava Kagan-Paley said.

MOSW’S WAR UKRAE BROUGHT HARSH TACTICS AGAST GAY RSIANS AT HOME

”GAY SCENELGBT Rsians fear the propaganda law will brg a broar rights mpaigners say the bill that won prelimary parliamentary approval January ntas no tails on what is nsired propaganda, and fear the possible proximy of children uld be ed to apply to any gay rights rally or even displays of affectn. “The fact is that any monstratn of their sexual orientatn is nsired to be propaganda, ” said Yevgeny Arkhipovy of the Associatn of Rsian Lawyers for Human of the lol laws agast exposg mors to gay “propaganda” are packaged wh bans on promotg pedophilia. “While an adult n choose how to live and whom to volve your timate life, is forbidn to impose on children preferenc of a non-tradnal nature that ntradict (our) tradns, ” Sergei Zheleznyak, a Uned Rsia lawmaker and vice-speaker of the State Duma, said last an terview wh Interfax news agency on the January 6 Rsian Orthodox Christmas eve, Patriarch Kirill, the church’s lear, equated homosexualy wh dg addictn, prostutn and adultery as the biggt threats facg Rsia.