After a recent raid on an LGBTQ+ bar, Russian authorities have arrested two individuals accused of being part of an “extremist group.” This is the first case of its kind since the Russian Supreme Court affirmed that the “international LGBT social movement” is an “extremist group” last November.
According to Amnesty International, Russian police in Orenburg raided the Pose nightclub on March 12, during a drag show. Customers were made to lie face down on the floor, and drag performers were left partially unclothed as authorities took away their costumes and wigs. The BBC stated that local members of a nationalist group, Russian Community, informed the authorities about the club and assisted the police in the raid.
Alexander Klimov, the art director of the club, and Diana Kamilyanova, its administrator, have been detained and are expected to remain in custody until May 18. They could potentially face up to 10 years in prison.
As per The Guardian, a tribunal in Orenburg accused Klimov and Kamilyanova of “encouraging non-traditional sexual relations among the bar's patrons.”
“The court imposed a precautionary measure on the art director and administrator of the Pose bar,” the tribunal stated. “The accused, who are of non-traditional sexual orientation, acted in planning with a group of individuals … who also support the views and activities of the international public association LGBT.”
“This is the first criminal case in Russia after the decision of the Supreme Court to recognize LGBT as an extremist movement,” said Ekaterina Mizulina, director of the ultra-conservative group Safe Internet League.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, there have been numerous raids performed on LGBTQ+ bars and at other establishments across cities in Russia, and several individuals have been targeted have been arrested and charged under the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws. However, Klimov and Kamilyanova are the first ones to be accused of extremism. This means that their case could establish a precedent for how laws are enforced on LGBTQ+ individuals under the Supreme Court’s November ruling.
Before the Supreme Court’s decision at the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Ministry of Justice, Russia had already prohibited so-called “gay propaganda.” A law in 2022 essentially prohibiting any public demonstrations of support for LGBTQ+ individuals was an extension of a 2013 law banning so-called “gay propaganda” in the presence of children.
“What LGBTQ individuals and human rights activists have feared since the end of last year has finally happened,” stated Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Russia Director, in a statement Tuesday.
Zviagina criticized Russian authorities for allowing members of a nationalist group to take part in the raid on Pose. She said, “Such collaboration between law enforcement and nationalist activists encourages an atmosphere of impunity for homophobic and transphobic attacks and fuels a climate of fear among LGBTI individuals. The international community must urge Russian authorities to review the homophobic Supreme Court decision and put an immediate halt to the persecution of LGBTI individuals. It is crucial to ensure that all human rights are enjoyed by everyone without exception.”
