Досье
The decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of November 30, 2023, which declared the non-existent “international LGBT social movement” extremist, has led to a sharp increase in repression of the LGBTQ+ community. It had already been the target of a number of discriminatory laws before, and as a result of this decision, even affiliation with LGBTQ+ itself has become effectively criminalised.
Full description
Since the beginning of 2024, LGBTQ+ people have been subjected to continuous pressure in criminal cases brought against “participants” of this non-existent “movement”. Usually the cases are brought under Article 282.2 (“Organisation of activities of an extremist organisation”, up to 12 years of imprisonment), and we know cases of bringing LGBTQ+ people to criminal responsibility in connection with the above-mentioned decision and under other articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
According to our data, at least 28 people have been involved in criminal cases in connection with their alleged involvement in the “LGBT movement”, and at least 16 of them have been imprisoned. There is every reason to believe that the real figures are much higher.
We consider all those imprisoned in such cases to be political prisoners, unless they are charged with other offences. However, because of the stigmatisation and abuse towards non-heterosexual men in prison, many suspects and defendants prefer not to be publicly identified, so we do not publish data on most of them. Those who have been charged with other offences in addition to involvement in the “LGBT movement” are not included in the list of political prisoners pending review of their criminal records, but are included in the list of persons subject to criminal prosecution, which is likely to have indications of political motivation and serious violation of the law.
