The Russian Supreme Court on Thursday imposed a ban on “international LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) movement” and said that its activists should be designated as “extremists”.
After the Supreme Court order, representatives of LGBT people fear arrests and prosecutions.
The judge said that he had endorsed a request from the Russian justice ministry to ban what it called “the international LGBT social movement”.
It did not say whether certain individuals or groups would be affected by the order.
The judge ruled that “the international LGBT public movement and its subdivisions” were extremist, and issued a “ban on its activities on the territory of Russia”.
The move is seen as part of restrictions imposed by the Kremlin in Russia on expression of sexual orientation and gender identity.
On the ruling against the LGBT people, the UN Human Rights Office said that the LBGT community’s situation Russia was “just going from bad to worse”, with its members fearing arrest and prosecution.
In a statement, UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk said: “I call on the Russian authorities to repeal, immediately, laws that place improper restrictions on the work of human rights defenders or that discriminate against LGBT people.”
Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin had said that the West was welcome to adopt “rather strange, in my view, new-fangled trends like dozens of genders, and gay parades” but had no right to impose them on other countries.
The hearing took place behind closed doors and without any defence present. The court took around five hours from the start of proceedings to issue its order.
The order should be executed immediately, said the judge.
The justice ministry in its request on November 17 had said that “various signs and manifestations of extremist orientation, including the incitement of social and religious discord” had been identified in the activities of the LGBT movement in Russia.
In Russia, more than 100 groups are already banned as “extremist”.
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Vikram Sharma is a globe-trotting journalist with a global perspective on international events. His articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing insights into the world’s most pressing challenges.
