by Rex Wockner
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Gay activists will try again next month to stage a gay pride march in Moscow.
This time, they are armed with a final ruling from the European Court of Human Rights that previous years' bans by the ex-mayor and the city were illegal.
Last October, the ECHR determined that the bans placed Russia in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights in the areas of freedom of assembly and association, right to an effective remedy and prohibition of discrimination.
The Russian government appealed the ruling to a higher chamber of the court, where the "referral request" was "rejected" April 11, according to the court's website.
"The Court's Chamber judgment of 21 October 2010 has thereby become final," the court's registrar reported.
On April 12, Moscow Pride applied to the police department and mayor's office for permission to hold this year's march.
The group asked to hold a "mass cultural and educational event" this time rather than a "political rally" – which had been banned each of the past five years.
"I really hope that this time common sense will finally prevail and our gay pride events will not be banned by authorities," co-organizer Nikolai Baev told UK Gay News and http://www.GayRussia.ru. "It's enough of such a madness (as) bans, arrests, riots and so on. I think that nobody is interested in such … things except extreme right groups."
Previous years' unsanctioned events were attacked by anti-gay hooligans, picketed by religious protesters and broken up by riot police.
