(ProsperNews.net) – Russia’s supreme court has ruled that the “international LGBT public movement” is “extremist” and banned it from the country. It is unclear what impact this will have or what individuals or organizations it affects, but Judge Oleg Nefedov said it will place a “ban on its activities on the territory of Russia.”
Noel Shaida of the LGBTQ rights NGO Sphere Foundation said the lack of clarity is causing “panic” among LGBT activists and said he is concerned it could result in prison terms for gay, lesbian, or transgender individuals or those who campaign for their rights. Conservatives and religious figures, however, have praised the move.
Putin ally Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, described it as a “form of moral self-defense of society,” while Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said it protected Russia’s religious and national identity against the “collective West.”
Observers say Russia has increasingly promoted traditional values since the start of the Ukraine war, and Putin has accused the West of “moving towards open Satanism.” Human rights groups argue that the Kremlin has a history of labeling groups as “extremists” to persecute them, and to distract from internal government failings.
Human rights campaigners, political opponents, and Putin-critical media outlets have been described as “extreme” in the past, with some receiving jail terms. Anti-war activist Oleg Orlov, for example, was convicted in October for “discrediting” the military by speaking out against the war.
More recently, Putin critic Alexei Navalny was charged with “extremism” and faces a 30-year prison term. Navalny founded the Foundation for Fighting Corruption, a group denounced as extremist in 2021. Ksenia Fadeyeva, who works with Mr. Navalny, is under house arrest and faces jail, also for “extremism.”
Homosexuality is legal in Russia but widely frowned upon. It is unlawful for individuals to “promote homosexuality,” and there are no antidiscrimination laws. A 2019 survey showed that 47% of Russians agree that “gays and lesbians should enjoy the same rights as other citizens,” while 43 percent disagreed.
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