WORLD
Russia’s top court bans LGBT movement for ‘extremism’
A crackdown on the community looms.
Russia's supreme court on Thursday ordered the banning of local activities of the "international LGBT movement" for being an extremist group.
Judge Oleg Nefedov issued the ruling in Moscow, in a closed-door hearing and without any defense present.
The judge said the order should be executed immediately.
If applied to individuals, the "extremist" label means gay, lesbian, transgender or queer people living in Russia could face years in jail.
It also opens the way to the criminal prosecution of any group protecting the rights of these communities in Russia.
The Orthodox Church — headed by Putin ally Patriarch Kirill — welcomed the move.
"It's a form of moral self-defense of society," Vakhtang Kipshidze, an official for the Moscow Patriarchate said.
The conservative turn in Russia accelerated since the Kremlin launched its Ukraine offensive and as a 2024 presidential election — expected to prolong Putin's rule until at least 2030 — looms.
Tanya Lokshina, associated director at Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia division, said the ban is "meant to increase the scapegoating of LGBT people to appeal to the Kremlin's conservative supporters before the March 2024 presidential vote."
Last December, Putin widened the 2013 law to criminalize any positive public mention of LGBTQ people or relationships.
In July this year, lawmakers then banned medical intervention and administrative procedures that allowed people to change gender.