Brody's Notes... Russian Capital Court Upholds Ban On Gay Pride In Moscow For The Next Hundred Years

By Nikolai Alekseev | MOSCOW, RU -- The 6th Moscow City Court Wednesday dismissed an appeal from the LGBTQ Equality Rights group, Moscow Pride/Gay Russia, over a lower court's decision making it lawful for the Russian capital’s municipal government to decline the 102 requests filed by gay rights activists for pride marches for the next hundred years - from March 2012 to May 2112.

A Moscow Pride/GayRussia spokesperson told LGBTQNation that the organisation intends to appeal the ruling to the Presidium of the Moscow City Court, (High Court) after which it may be necessary, he said, to lodge a complaint against Russia itself with the European Court of Human Rights since Russia is a signatory nation to the European Human Rights Charter and Declaration.

In October 2010, the European Court of Human Rights issued a verdict affirming that the 164 bans on gay pride marches and events between 2006 and 2008 were in violation of the constitutionally protected right to freedom of assembly. In April 2011, the ECHR decision in Alekseyev v. Russia came into force after the Russian government lost its appeal in Strasbourg.
Responding to the news that Moscow’s municipal government will ban Pride events until 2112, British LGBT Equality Rights Charity Stonewall UK's International Officer Jasmine O’Connor said:

"It’s a matter of grave concern that Moscow’s municipal government has again marginalised the city’s gay community. It’s another sign of the dire situation for Russia’s 8.5 million lesbian, gay and bisexual people, whose human rights are routinely abused by the government and police. 

We’ll continue to press the British government to do all it can to confront homophobic human rights abuses worldwide."

In May, a total of 40 people, mostly gay rights activists, were detained in Moscow after they attempted to hold two demonstrations demanding the right to hold a gay pride parade in the Russian capital city.
A spokesperson for the U. S. State Department referred to a statement given to the press in February regarding the American position on LGBT rights in the Russian Federation;

"The United States places great importance on combating discrimination against the LGBT community and all minority groups. We are concerned by proposed local legislation in Russia that would severely restrict freedoms of expression and assembly for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals, and indeed all Russians. 

As Secretary Clinton has said, gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights. 

We have called on Russian officials to safeguard these freedoms, and to foster an environment which promotes respect for the rights of all citizens. 

We have also consulted with our EU partners on this issue. They share our concerns and are also engaging Russian officials on this."