RUSSIA: Court Agrees With UN Ruling, Dismisses "Gay Propaganda" Charge

In what activists hope may lead to a repeal of Russia's national "homosexual propaganda" ban, a local court has agreed with a 2012 ruling by the United Nations Human Rights Commission and dismissed the charges against activist Irina Fet, who was arrested in 2009 after holding the above "Homosexuality Is Normal" sign.  Gay Star News reports:

Ryazan regional court today (2 October) has now agreed with the international ruling, and cancelled all prior charges and verdicts. Moscow Pride is now entering into a separate process with the Finance Minister to compensate Fet for moral damages, which could take up to two years. Nikolai Alekseev, a lawyer and one of Russia’s foremost gay rights activists, has described it as a ‘severe blow’ to the country’s gay propaganda laws. Speaking to Gay Star News, he said: "Full justice is restored. It is written now in a Russian court. It is a decision that is extremely important. The Russian judiciary is moving forward with the international courts, and agreeing with their view of the legal aspects of sexual orientation." While the law being discussed is the regional gay propaganda ban in Ryazan, and not the federal nationwide ban, one ruling could affect the other.

Another report on the ruling can be read here via Google Translate.