Main | Saturday, May 30, 2015

RUSSIA: Several Activists Arrested At Unauthorized Moscow Pride Event

Via Agence France Press:
Russian police Saturday detained several gay rights activists for attempting to stage an unauthorised pride rally in central Moscow, AFP journalists reported. Police officers seized the activists - one of whom tried to unfurl a rainbow flag - and loaded them into waiting vans as around 30 nationalist counter-demonstrators in camouflage hurled eggs at the activists and attacked them. Several of the Orthodox counter-demonstrators were also detained by police as a large crowd of Russian and international journalists looked on. "Arrested and beaten at 10th Moscow Pride. We are arrested! They probably broke my left hand finger," leading gay rights activist Nikolai Alexeyev wrote on Twitter, posting a photo of himself in detention. "The most brutal arrest at Moscow Pride ever!" Gay rights activists insisted on holding the event Saturday despite a court in Moscow banning it. Gays in Russia face regular harassment and requests to hold pride parades have been consistently rejected by authorities in the capital.
I'll add video to this post if any appears.

UPDATE: We've got video

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