Apr 6, 2012, 9:30 GMT
3Moscow - Two Russian men were arrested on Friday for illegally
engaging in 'pro-gay propaganda,' in the first-ever enforcement a
controversial new law that bans making statements supporting
homosexuality in public.
Police in St Petersburg arrested the pair as they were standing in a
central district of Russia's second-largest city and holding up
placards reading 'Homosexuality is normal.'
'This St Petersburg law banning favourable comments about
homosexuality is a shame. This law is absolutely discriminatory and it
takes away the right to freedom of expression and assembly from
citizens of non-traditional orientations,' said Tatyana Lokshina,
spokeswoman for the NGO Human Rights Watch.
The pair's protest in front of St Petersburg's Palace of Youth
Creativity, a government-run centre for art displays and musical
performances, was intended to force a judicial challenge of the law,
Lokoshina said, according to an Interfax news agency report.
A new city code that went into effect on February 29 stipulates fines
for persons who 'propagandize non-traditional lifestyles' in a public
space.
The two men face fines equivalent to 170 dollars each for violating
the city ordinance, and possible additional penalties for breaking
national law banning demonstrations in a public area without official
sanction, the Interfax report said.
Supporters of the St Petersburg city law banning public statements in
favour of alternative lifestyles have said it is necessary in order to
promote traditional Russian values. Human rights groups have said the
law violates personal freedoms guaranteed in the Russian constitution.
Russia's national legislature the Duma currently is considering a bill
which, if passed, would make public support of homosexuality or
lesbianism illegal across the country.
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy
--
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