by Rex Wockner
Pride organizers in Gomel, Belarus, filed suit Feb. 17 over the city's ban of a Feb. 12 gay pride parade.
The complaint says the ban violated organizers' right to freedom of assembly as guaranteed by the Belarusian Constitution.
"The organizers see this denial of permission as part of a pattern of infringement on the rights to assembly and they are concerned that homophobia may be a significant factor in the refusals," they said in a statement. "A similar application was submitted to the authorities in Minsk and this permission was also denied."
