Russia’s Top Court Starts LGBTQ Ban Hearing Without Defendant – News18

Russia’s top court on Thursday began deliberating whether to brand the “international LGBT movement” an extremist organisation, with state media reporting there was no legal defence team in court.

The “extremist” label would mean that gay, lesbian, transgender or queer people living in Russia could be put in prison, and cements a long and painful crackdown on the community.

“Only a representative of the ministry of justice is participating in the session. No-one from the defendant’s side showed up,” RIA Novosti cited the supreme court as saying.

Independent Russian-language news organisation Novaya Gazeta reported that activists were not allowed to attend the hearing, which was being held behind closed doors.

The justice ministry in November filed a request that the “international LGBT movement” be labelled extremist, without specifying whether individuals or organisations in Russia were being targeted.

Yan Dvorkin, the head of a Russian group supporting transgender rights called “Centre T”, said the trial was “some new low point of insanity”.

Dvorkin was speaking to AFP from outside Russia, which he had fled citing security concerns.

Russia has been clamping down on people and organisations whose views differ from hardline interpretations of social values promoted by the Kremlin and the Orthodox Church.

Russia’s conservative turn accelerated after it deployed troops to Ukraine last year.

Dvorkin said he believed LGBTQ people were being used as scapegoats by Russian authorities.

“They’re losing the war. This makes people very frustrated and dissatisfied with the government. It’s very easy to take that anger out on LGBTQ people.”

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)