Russian LGBT group tries to fight back against homophobic media coverage
May 1, 2012 LGBT rights rally in St. Petersburg (photo by Roman Mel'Nik)
I found this bit of news at Bumaga online newspaper. The article is short enough that I think I'll just translate it in its entirety
LGBT rights activists who organized the QueerFest human rights festival, have field a complaints with the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation against Sankt-Peterburg TV channel. The activists contend that the statements by presenter Valeriy Tatarov on his show, "Reaktsya" (The Reaction) run afoul of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which deals with inciting hatred against a social group, said the statement on the website LGBT organization "Vyhod" [Literally - "Exit," but, in this context, it's translated as "Coming Out"]
Valeriy Tatarov, the activists contend, didn't just made insults (calling LGBT individuals "perverts" and "pederasts," and saying that "if you're stuck in a pile of manure - be quiet and stop squawking"), but also incited hatred against a social group - the LGBT individuals
QueerFest organizers have already demanded that the channel management condemn the statements of their employee, but the channel's General Director Sergey Boyarsky said that Taranov's words "are only an expression of opinion," Lenizdat.ru reported. The director also stated that he shares the presenter's opinion on LGBT individuals.
The episode of Tatarov's show dealing with QueerFest originally aired on September 29. The offending video is still available on the channel's website
So, basically, faced with a media outlet that supported homophobic rhetoric of its hosts, Vyhod decided to try for a legal remedy. Will it work? Maybe, but probably not. While LGBT rights activists have managed to score a few legal victories, as I've said many times before, how you're treated under federal law depends on the political needs of the United Russia apparatus.
So we'll see.
In the meantime - Vyhod could always use some donations.