It is another blow to the rights of lesbians, gays and trans people in Russia: The Ministry of Justice wants to ask the Supreme Court to ban the “LGBTQ movement”. It is unclear whether this refers to the community in general or specific organizations.
The Russian government has asked the country’s Supreme Court to ban the “LGBTQ movement.” The Justice Department said it had filed a lawsuit seeking to declare the “international public LGBTQ movement” extremist and ban it.
The reason given was that the authorities had identified signs of an extremist nature in the activities of the LGBTQ movement active in Russia, including incitement to social and religious unrest. A corresponding hearing is therefore scheduled for November 30th.
Consequences unclear
It’s not clear what exactly a designation as extremist would mean for LGBTQ people in Russia if the court rules in favor of the Justice Department. It was not clear from the ministry’s brief statement whether the proposed ban applies to the LGBTQ movement in general or to specific organizations.
Russia’s leadership is “once again forgetting” that the LGBTQ community “are human beings, citizens of this country like everyone else,” said Diliya Gafurova, director of the aid organization Sphere, which advocates for LGBTQ rights in Russia, to the AFP news agency. With the new proposed law, the government “not only wants to make us disappear from the public space, but also ban us as a social group.”
People from the LGBTQ community have been oppressed in Russia for years. The English abbreviation stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.