by Rex Wockner
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
The European Court of Human Rights is hearing a case brought by the LGBT group Rainbow House in Tyumen, Russia, over local officials' refusal to register the group as a legal entity.
At present, the court has sent a series of questions to the Russian government that must be answered within three months.
In blocking the group's official registration, local Justice Ministry officials reportedly said its goals – protecting human dignity, rights and freedoms, and providing social and psychological support to LGBT people – contradict fundamental morality.
Last October, the Euro Court ruled against Russia in the matter of Moscow's ongoing bans of gay pride events. The court found that the nation violated the European Convention on Human Rights in the areas of freedom of assembly and association, right to an effective remedy, and prohibition of discrimination.
Tyumen, population 609,000, is about 1,300 miles east of Moscow.
