"Illegal Just for Posting Rainbow Flag Photos"…Russia's First Guilty Verdict Against LGBTQ+ Activism

Man Fined for Posting Online Photos
Supreme Court Effectively Criminalizes LGBTQ Activism Last Year

Russia has handed down its first guilty verdict against an LGBT activist since effectively outlawing LGBT activism by labeling it as "extremism."

Foreign media reported on the 1st (local time) that a court in Volgograd, southern Russia, found a man guilty for posting a photo of an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) flag online.

According to the court, the defendant admitted, "Posting the LGBT-related photo online was a foolish act, and I regret it," acknowledging his guilt. The court fined the defendant 1,000 rubles (approximately 15,000 won).

The Vladimir Putin administration has pressured LGBT activism in Russia over recent years by emphasizing the "protection of traditional family values." Especially after the invasion of Ukraine last year, the government intensified crackdowns on sexual minorities, claiming that "the West is breaking traditional sexual norms and family values and forcing homosexuality." In July, President Putin signed a law in official documents and public records that prohibits not only gender changes but also medical interventions for gender transition.

LGBTQ activists marching with rainbow flags at the Labor Day rally held in 2013 in Saint Petersburg, Russia
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Additionally, on November 30 last year, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Ministry of Justice in an administrative lawsuit requesting the ban of the "LGBT international public movement" in Russia. The Supreme Court stated at the time that "the LGBT international public movement incites social and religious hatred" and "confirmed signs and expressions of extremist nature."

The Supreme Court ruling came about two weeks after the Ministry of Justice filed the administrative lawsuit on the 17th. The court conducted the hearing in private without the defendant's presence. Some LGBT activists requested to participate in the trial, claiming they were parties to the case, but the Supreme Court dismissed their requests.

As a result, there have been predictions that activism for LGBT rights in Russia will be outlawed going forward.

Russian human rights lawyer Maks Olnitchev said, "The Ministry of Justice labeled a non-existent international public movement as extremist," adding, "Authorities will use the court ruling as a basis to crack down on LGBT-related activities within Russia."

On the 29th of last month, the Nizhny Novgorod court east of Moscow ordered a woman wearing rainbow-colored frog-shaped earrings in a cafe to be detained for five days. The woman was summoned and investigated by the police after a man who demanded she remove the earrings at the cafe posted a video online.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.