A rare victory for gay rights in Russia
Being non-heterosexual in Russia is, to put it mildly, not easy. Even if surveys suggest that attitudes towards LGBT individuals are changing for the better, the "gay propaganda" law still exists, and holding Pride Parades hasn't gotten any easier since 2011.
via Reuters/Gazeta.ru
So it was a relief to see gazeta.ru report on a rare victory for LGBT rights. A few days ago, the Civil Court of the Tversky neighborhood of the city of Ryazan' ordered the Ministry of Finance to pay a gay rights activist Irina Fedotova 8,000 rubles in damages after she appealed her conviction for violating "gay propaganda" law.
Back in March of 2009, Fedotova and fellow activist Nikolay Bayev protested against the then-recently passed local law against "gay propaganda." It was one of the first laws of its kind, years before ban on "gay propaganda" became a federal law. Fedotova and Bayev picketed in front of a Ryazan' school with "homosexuality is normal" posters. They were convicted of violating the law and fined 1,500 rubles.
Fedotova appealed - to the UN Human Rights Commission. In October 2012, it ruled that the verdict violated Fedotova's freedom of expression and violated her civil rights. While it didn't impose any compensation, it ruled that Russian government must make some kind of compensation. And so, in late 2013, the conviction was reversed and, earlier this month, the court decided on the not-so-insubstantial damages that covered Fedotova's fine and other legal expenses.
As the article notes, this isn't the first time an international legal body compelled the Russian government to pay damages over LGBT rights violations. Moscow LBGT rights activist and Moscow Pride Parade organizer Nikolay Alekseyev sued Russian government over de facto prohibitions on conducting Pride Parades in 2006-2008 in the European Court of Human Rights. The court ruled in his favor, ordering Russian government to pay €12,000 in damages. Which the government did, last year.
According to Alekseyev, there are several cases relating to LGBT rights in Russia making its way through the European Court of Human Rights, including Bayev's appeal over the Ryazan' "gay propaganda" case. The UN Human Rights Commission apperantly processes the cases faster, but it doesn't award compensations per se. Which is why, the article argues, Fedotova's victory was so significant.
In the interview with gazeta.ru, Alekseyev said that he expects all discriminatory laws, including the "gay propaganda" law, to be overturned. But he's realistic about its chances of going away completely - he speculates that the law would merely be reworded to proxibit "propaganda of sexual activities," which is more neutral, but could still potentially be used to discriminate.
I guess we'll have to wait and see what ultimately happens.
23.05.2014, 17:54
Gay-Propaganda paid for from the budget
Мировой суд Тверского района Москвы частично удовлетворил иск активистки московского гей-прайда Ирины Федотовой...
http://www.gazeta.ru/social/2014/05/23/6045665.shtml
via Reuters/Gazeta.ru
So it was a relief to see gazeta.ru report on a rare victory for LGBT rights. A few days ago, the Civil Court of the Tversky neighborhood of the city of Ryazan' ordered the Ministry of Finance to pay a gay rights activist Irina Fedotova 8,000 rubles in damages after she appealed her conviction for violating "gay propaganda" law.
Back in March of 2009, Fedotova and fellow activist Nikolay Bayev protested against the then-recently passed local law against "gay propaganda." It was one of the first laws of its kind, years before ban on "gay propaganda" became a federal law. Fedotova and Bayev picketed in front of a Ryazan' school with "homosexuality is normal" posters. They were convicted of violating the law and fined 1,500 rubles.
Fedotova appealed - to the UN Human Rights Commission. In October 2012, it ruled that the verdict violated Fedotova's freedom of expression and violated her civil rights. While it didn't impose any compensation, it ruled that Russian government must make some kind of compensation. And so, in late 2013, the conviction was reversed and, earlier this month, the court decided on the not-so-insubstantial damages that covered Fedotova's fine and other legal expenses.
As the article notes, this isn't the first time an international legal body compelled the Russian government to pay damages over LGBT rights violations. Moscow LBGT rights activist and Moscow Pride Parade organizer Nikolay Alekseyev sued Russian government over de facto prohibitions on conducting Pride Parades in 2006-2008 in the European Court of Human Rights. The court ruled in his favor, ordering Russian government to pay €12,000 in damages. Which the government did, last year.
According to Alekseyev, there are several cases relating to LGBT rights in Russia making its way through the European Court of Human Rights, including Bayev's appeal over the Ryazan' "gay propaganda" case. The UN Human Rights Commission apperantly processes the cases faster, but it doesn't award compensations per se. Which is why, the article argues, Fedotova's victory was so significant.
In the interview with gazeta.ru, Alekseyev said that he expects all discriminatory laws, including the "gay propaganda" law, to be overturned. But he's realistic about its chances of going away completely - he speculates that the law would merely be reworded to proxibit "propaganda of sexual activities," which is more neutral, but could still potentially be used to discriminate.
I guess we'll have to wait and see what ultimately happens.
23.05.2014, 17:54
Gay-Propaganda paid for from the budget
Мировой суд Тверского района Москвы частично удовлетворил иск активистки московского гей-прайда Ирины Федотовой...
http://www.gazeta.ru/social/2014/05/23/6045665.shtml