RUSSIA: Police break up gay rights protest outside EU office in Moscow

Record ID: 277129

  • Title: RUSSIA: Police break up gay rights protest outside EU office in Moscow
  • Date: 28th June 2007
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) ORGANISER OF RALLY AND GAY RIGHTS CAMPAIGNER, NIKOLAI ALEXEYEV, SAYING: "As you can see, today our mayor is being re-appointed, he is a mayor who does not pay attention to human rights or to the elementary democratic freedoms of this state. We planned to have 60 participants in this protest, but many did not show up because the Moscow authorities imp
  • Embargoed: 13th July 2007 13:00
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  • Reuters ID: LVAB4GGJ4U182TM6CSJQLM8LQU19
  • Story Text: Police arrest gay rights activists staging a rally outside the offices of the European Union in Moscow. The protesters were demanding the EU impose a travel ban on Moscow mayor Luzhkov after he refused permission for a gay pride march in the Russian capital. Police in Moscow on Wednesday (June 27) arrested gay rights activists who tried to stage a protest outside the offices of the European Union, in the Russian capital.
    The protesters were demanding the EU impose a travel ban on Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, over his refusal to allow gay pride marches in the city.
    Luzhkov last month banned for the second year in a row, a gay pride march in Moscow, calling the event a "satanic act" that would cause outrage in Russian society.
    Activists said Luzhkov had also thrown a last-minute ban on their protest on Wednesday, citing nearby construction work as making it impossible for the protest to go ahead.
    "The government of Moscow is again breaking the law, like they did several timed before, by banning any kind of opposition protest. It is simply impossible for us to stage a one-hour protest in our native city to express our opinion," said Alexei Davidov, a local coordinator for the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender) group.
    Within minutes of the start of the protest, police moved in to break up the rally, arresting most of the activists.
    The protest took place on the same day when the Russian capital's legislative body voted to keep Luzhkov for another four-year term, following a request from Russian president Vladimir Putin last week. 7- year old Luzhkov is popular with Muscovites after presiding over an economic boom, and has been Moscow mayor for 15 years. His current term runs out in December.
    "As you can see, today our mayor is being re-appointed, he is a mayor who does not pay attention to human rights or to the elementary democratic freedoms of this state. We planned to have 60 participants in this protest, but many did not show up because the Moscow authorities imposed a last minute ban on the protest. We protest against this step. We demand an entry-ban for Luzhkov into countries of the European Union and we will demand it through the European Parliament, the European Commission and other European institutions," said Nikolai Alexeyev, gay rights campaigner and organiser of the protest.
    More than 50 gay rights activists were arrested last month when they tried to hold a march in Moscow despite a ban. Many others were beaten or harassed by Russians opposed to gay rights.
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