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Legal proceeding initiated against Russia activist amid LGBTQA+ crackdown

The Investigative Committee of Yaroslavl Oblast initiated a criminal proceeding on Thursday against Russian LGBTQA+ activist Yaroslav Sirotkin on the charges of participation in an “extremist organization,” according to local media.

According to the investigation, Sirotkin posted 14 social media posts and videos that included “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships” between December 2023 and January 2024. The LGBTQA+ movement is identified as extremist and has been banned in Russia since 2023.

Sirotkin, who is considered to be a “foreign agent” by the government, left Russia in 2022. After arriving in Armenia, he opened a shelter for LGBTQ+ refugees from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus with another activist, Alexander Derrek. In 2024, Sirotkin was placed on a wanted list by Russian authorities.

Legal actions against Sirotkin are part of the larger anti-LGBTQA+ crackdown in Russia affecting both individuals and companies. In February, for instance, online platform Wattpad was fined 3.5 million rubles (approximately $44,000) for not deleting an LGBTQA+ novel. In May, an activist was also fined 2000 rubles (approximately $25) for a Pink Floyd emoji in her Telegram name.

In 2024, the fines for “propaganda of LGBTQA+ movement” totaled 25 million rubles (approximately $314,000): 71 citizens of Russia and other states and 20 judicial persons were fined, and at least four foreign nationals were deported. Recent LGBTQA+ activists affected are Nikolai Rodkin, against whom a similar proceeding of participating in an “extremist organization” was initiated, and Alexandra Kazantseva, who was placed on a wanted list in March.

In February, the first known sentence for LGBTQA+ involvement was issued when an imprisoned man was given a six-year extension on his sentence for “involving other prisoners in the LGBTQA+ movement.”

Some of the legal actions of the Russian government are countered by international bodies. In February, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found that Russia violated Article 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which protects the right to expression, by blocking and fining LGBTQA+ activists. The court ordered financial compensation.

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Russia Supreme Court upholds 12-year imprisonment of transgender anti-war activist

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Russia Supreme Court upholds 12-year imprisonment of transgender anti-war activist

Russian Supreme Court upheld the 12-year imprisonment of a transgender anti-war activist Mark Kislitsyn, stated Amnesty International on Wednesday. The group said convicting the activist of high treason for sending US $10 to a Ukrainian bank account “defied common sense,” urging his immediate release.

Natalia Prilutskaya, Amnesty International’s Russia researcher, reiterated that the real aim of Kislitsyn’s persecution, imprisonment and ill-treatment in detention was not to protect state security, but to “punish a committed human rights defender for his anti-war stance.”

Mark Kislitsyn is a transgender man, anti-war and LGBT activist. He was convicted for transferring $10 to a Ukrainian bank account, which the authorities alleged that the account was opened to raise funds for the Ukrainian army to fight Russia after the “special military operation” against Ukraine.

The Russian authorities regarded Kislitsyn’s actions as high treason under Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The article provides that “rendering financial assistance to a foreign state in activities against the security of the Russian Federation” amounts to high treason. The court sentenced Kislitsin in December 2023 to 12 years in a general regime colony with a fine of 200 thousand rubles (approximately $2,300).

The group also contended that Kislitsyn faced ill-treatment after being detained, in particular the denial of gender-affirming hormonal treatment. Kislitsyn is also facing prolonged and unjustified confinement in a punishment cell, predominantly in solitary confinement.

Solitary confinement is regulated by international law. According to Rule 45 of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, “solitary confinement shall be used only in exceptional cases as a last resort, for as short a time as possible and subject to independent review.”

In a letter written from jail, Mark Kislitsyn said, “Those who are trying to intimidate me… can do me a little harm, but no matter what they do, they cannot make me renounce my beliefs, lose my sense of belonging to my country or even ruin my mood.”

In order to eliminate criticism of the government’s actions, Russia has been using strict laws to regulate the information landscape since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Restrictive laws used for suppression of opposition, besides the well-known law on “foreign agents,” include some articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, such as article 207.3 which prohibits the “public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.” Article 280.3 also prohibits “discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation.”

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Belarus transgender rights organization says authorities detained over 15 LGBTQ+ individuals

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Belarus transgender rights organization says authorities detained over 15 LGBTQ+ individuals

Belarus transgender rights organization TG House Belarus said on Friday that more than 15 LGBTQ+ individuals, including eight transgender individuals, were detained by the Belarusian authorities in the past month.

According to TG House Belarus, the individuals were arrested in several Belarusian cities for allegedly subscribing to extremist resources. TG House Belarus stated that most of the eight transgender individuals were charged for hooliganism and two individuals were charged for pornography. The organization also stated that the detainees were subjected to physical and psychological abuse and some were forced to flee the country.

On February 19, Prosecutor General of Belarus Andrei Shved announced that the Belarus government had been preparing a bill that would punish the promotion of what they deemed to be non-traditional relationships. He stated that it was important to not allow the discussion of the topic and that opponents were attempting to destroy traditional family values and, by extension, Belarus as a nation.

Relatedly, on August 5, the Council of the EU announced that existing sanctions would extend to 28 new individuals for participating in “ongoing internal repression and human rights violations in Belarus.” The 28 individuals, who were listed in a regulation on July 16, included Belarusian government officials, operators of correctional institutions, and members of the state-run media.

EU sanctions against Belarus were initially drafted in response to elections in 2020. The sanctions have been expanded and extended due to alleged ongoing human rights violations and violence against peaceful protesters. The EU stated that the purpose of the sanctions was to “put pressure on Belarusian political leadership to prevent further violence and repression.”

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Russia adopts bill banning adoption for countries that allow gender reassignment

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Russia adopts bill banning adoption for countries that allow gender reassignment

Members of Russia’s State Duma, the country’s legislative authority consisting of 450 members, adopted a bill Wednesday which will ban the adoption of children from the Russian Federation by citizens in countries where gender reassignment is permitted, emphasizing the need to uphold “traditional values.” The bill was approved by an absolute majority of the State Duma members in the first reading, and will now become law.

Chairman of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, who proposed the bill, discussed the rationale behind the bill:

This decision is aimed at protecting childhood and traditional values. The absolute majority of State Duma deputies supported the adoption of this initiative. It is necessary to protect our children from the threats they may face when they are adopted or under guardianship by citizens of foreign countries where gender reassignment is legal.

This adoption ban comes just a year after Russian lawmakers passed a law banning gender-affirming surgeries for transgender people in the country. The bill prohibited transgender individuals from receiving hormone therapy, making changes of gender on official Russian documentation, and barred any who have already transitioned from adopting children. It also annulled transgender individuals’ marriages.

Russia has previously been restrictive with adoptions. In 2012, a federal law was passed to prohibit the adoption of Russian children by US citizens and in 2023. Russian media outlet RBC (РБК) reported in June that a decrease in adoption from foreigners of 89 per cent was registered in 2023, with only six children adopted by foreign nationals, due to the restrictive nature of such legislation. According to the presidential commissioner for children’s rights report, it is expected that the adoption of Russian children by foreigners will completely cease because of diplomatic tension heightened by current events.

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