by Rex Wockner
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
In a stinging rebuke to Russia's pervasive homophobia, the European Court of Human Rights on Oct. 21 ordered the nation to stop banning gay pride parades.
In a group of cases brought by Moscow Pride founder Nikolai Alekseev, the court ruled that former Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov's yearly bans of gay pride violated guarantees of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in the areas of freedom of assembly and association, right to an effective remedy and prohibition of discrimination.
Russia must pay Alekseev 12,000 euros ($16,800) in damages and 17,510 euros in costs and expenses.
The court rejected Moscow's many excuses for the bans, which included the alleged need to protect public order, health, morals and the rights and freedoms of others — as well as the desire to prevent riots.
In reality, Luzhkov had vowed to never allow a gay pride parade in Moscow no matter what. He called gay parades "satanic" and "weapons of mass destruction," and called gay people "faggots" ("gomiki").
"(T)he main reason for the bans on the gay marches had been the authorities' disapproval of demonstrations which, they considered, promoted homosexuality," the court's registrar said in a summation of the ruling. "In particular, the Court could not disregard the strong personal opinions publicly expressed by the Moscow mayor and the undeniable link between those statements and the bans. Consequently, the Court found that, as the Government had not justified their bans in a way compatible with the Convention requirements, Mr. Alekseyev had suffered discrimination because of his sexual orientation."
Alekseev said the Euro court decision is binding on Russia and he hoped new Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin would offer no resistance.
However, on Oct. 22, the Russian Ministry of Justice reportedly appealed the ruling to the ECHR's Grand Chamber.
"This decision is a major victory for us because no judge, no lawyer and no politician will any longer be able to tell us that the bans of our events were lawful," Alekseev said. "This decision is the first to recognize that the Russian law on freedom of assembly contradicts with the European Convention. It is a gift to all democrats and human rights activists in Russia."
"We declare October 21 the Russian LGBT Liberation Day and we will celebrate it every year from now on with public demonstrations," he vowed.
Louis-Georges Tin, president of the Committee for the International Day Against Homophobia, said: "A new chapter is about to be opened in Russia and we hope that this decision will make history the arrests, fines and harassment that LGBT rights defenders faced since 2006. … The (European Union) countries represented in Moscow have now no excuse not to bring the same political support to Russian Pride organizers as in other Eastern European countries."
Small groups of LGBT activists defied Luzhkov's bans each of the past five years, provoking him to send riot police to arrest and sometimes beat them. The small gatherings also were routinely attacked by anti-gay hooligans.
Leading British activist Peter Tatchell, who was pummeled by anti-gay protesters in Moscow in 2007, said: "This ruling is a major rebuke to the disgraced former mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, and to his authoritarian allies in the Russian government. … This is an astonishing victory. Nikolai and his small band of daring LGBT activists have taken on the might of the Russian state — and won. … He is a real pioneer and hero."
