Russia: Authorities Banned Moscow Gay Parade
26 May 2011
Authorities in Moscow have banned a demonstration in support of
tolerance and respect for rights and freedoms of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual & Transgender) community. The parade called "Moscow Gay Parade:
Homosexuality in the History of World Culture and Civilization" was
expected to be held in a city park near the Kremlin on 28 May 2011. The
LGBT activists are planning to hold the demonstration despite the ban.
On 17 May 2011, LGBT activists received a letter from Moscow City Hall
refusing to grant a permit to organise the Gay Pride Parade. The letter
referred to requests from public officials, religious and traditional
groups threatening protests if the event was not banned. Moscow
authorities have once again used the obligation to preserve the public
order to prohibit the Gay Pride Parade.
This is the sixth time that the Parade has been banned by Moscow
authorities. Such a ban is direct discrimination against the LGBT
community and an infringement of the right of freedom of assembly. The
former Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov has even called the Gay Pride
'satanic'. However after his forced resignation in September 2010,
several opposition demonstrations were authorised by the new mayor
Sergey Sobyanin and Russian LGBT activists hoped that this time
permission to hold their peaceful demonstration would be granted.
The ban of the Gay Pride Parade by Moscow city hall is in direct
contradiction with a ruling of the European Court of Human Rights
(ECHR). On 21 October 2010, the ECHR made a decision on a case which
concerned the ban of 164 marches and picketings planned in Moscow
between May 2006 and May 2008. The Court declared that Russia had
violated Article 11 (right to freedom of assembly), Article 14
(prohibition of discrimination), in conjunction with Article 11 and
Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention for
the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. This decision
was appealed by the Russian authorities on 21 January 2011, but the
appeal was rejected and the decision of the ECHR came into force on 11
April 2011.
As previous demonstrations for LGBT rights in the Russian Federation
have been targeted by religious right-wing group activists in the past,
it is feared that the peaceful demonstrators may be assaulted during the
Moscow Gay Parade. Front Line believes that the ban of the Gay Parade by
the Russian authorities violates the Russian Federation Constitution and
Articles 11 and 14 of the European Convention for the Protection of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which guarantee the right to
freedom of assembly without discrimination on any grounds.
Front Line urges the Russian authorities to:
1. Ensure the right to freedom of assembly for the Russian LGBT
community, in particular on the occasion of the Gay Pride Parade 2011,
in accordance with the Russian Federation Constitution and the European
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;
2. Guarantee the security and physical and psychological integrity of
the LGBT activists during the Moscow Gay Parade of 28 May 2011;
3. Guarantee in all circumstances that human rights defenders in the
Russian Federation are able to carry out their legitimate human rights
activities without fear of reprisals, and free of all restrictions
including judicial harassment.
For actions please refer to our web at
http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/act
