Raids on Moscow gay clubs after LGBTQ movement declared ‘extremist’

Moscow Police carried out several raids on LGBT clubs in the Russian capital on the night of Friday, December 1, and early Saturday morning. Those operations took place two days after the Russian Supreme Court banned the “LGBT movement” in the country, calling it “extremist.”

The measure prohibits both LGBT propaganda and advertising, as well as “generating interest and encouraging joining the ranks” of said movement.

Barely 48 hours had passed since the controversial ruling and the authorities began raids that, in the opinion of human rights defenders, It is a clear persecution against him.

“It is clear to us that they are once again turning us into an internal enemy to divert attention from all the other problems that abound in Russia,” said Olga Baranova, director of the Moscow Community Center for LGBTQ+ Initiatives. As activists, they run the risk. risk of being branded as “extremists” after the court ruling.

Although it is not yet clear the scope or symbols that will be banned, the LGBTIQ+ population is afraid of ending up in prison solely for their sexual orientation.

That fear has caused several LGBTQ+ places to close their doors, including the gay club Central Station, the largest in St. Petersburg. On its social networks, the club said goodbye to its clients after the owners of the place they rent will deny them from continuing to work there.

According to human rights defenders, the greatest risk is faced by diversity activists in Russia. “In practice, it could happen that the Russian authorities, with this court ruling in hand, will enforce it against LGBTQ+ initiatives operating in Russia,” said Max Olenichev, a human rights lawyer who works with the LGBTQ+ population, mentioning that the ruling prohibits organized activity to defend the rights of these people.

Back underground?

The recent court ruling is part of President Vladimir Putin’s policy of upholding “traditional family values,” which, according to several Russian civil organizations, have generated a violation of the rights of LGBTIQ+ people.

Again, as before 1993, when homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia, fear has gained ground in the community.

“Arrests of activists will most likely be massive and easier to carry out. At People who display rainbow symbols, even on the street, would have good reason to arrest them, saying that they are displaying symbols of an extremist organization”claimed Elle Solomina, a Russian trans woman who works with technologies.

She warns that it will be a scenario similar to what happened when in Russia the same classification of “extremist” was requested for Alexey Navalny’s opposition movement. “There are precedents with a letter ‘N’ for Navalny’ when people who posted it on social media received sentences,” she added.

Previously, Putin’s government had banned LGBT propaganda, initially out of an alleged concern for children, but later extended this ban to all ages. Books, series, movies and advertising cannot contain any type of symbol or reference to sexual diversity.. Additionally, medical procedures for sex change and gender changes in documents were prohibited. Activists lament, a state retaliation against all forms of dissent has been established.

The spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, called on the Russian authorities to immediately repeal that and other laws that violate the rights of LGBT people or those of people who defend human rights in all areas.

“We are concerned that this law could effectively criminalize any defense related to the rights of people of a different sexual orientation and peaceful defense should never be criminalized,” he emphasized.

For her, this is a criminalization of activism. “We have already seen the banning of so-called gay propaganda in Russia and, now, any defense of the rights of people who have a certain sexual orientation has been effectively criminalized.”

Shamdasani said that several rights are violated, including access to health care, the right to employment and other fundamental rights “that will now be ruined because people will have to hide.”

Clandestine will be the rule, again, in Russia. Although it is not a crime to be homosexual, current laws force people to avoid meetings and gatherings.

“Even a simple queer gathering, like a tea party, will have to move deep underground. If you meet with a group of people and have a rainbow flag on the wall while you have tea, the OMON (Special Police) team will come in, lay you face down on the floor and say that you are an extremist group,” lamented Elle Solomina.

The only possibility for the Russian queer community, he said, “is to leave the country because the situation will only get worse.” “It is a dictatorship of fear, to scare people. There’s a ‘vigilante syndrome’, you know. They say: here we are the authority and you are almost nothing,” he reproached.

With AP, Reuters.