Russian Gay Activists Send Their Sixth Application to the European Court of Human Rights

Moscow Pride organisers seek 100,000 euros compensation for banned picketing

MOSCOW, January 28, 2009  – Organisers of Moscow Gay Pride yesterday sent their sixth complaint to the European Court of Human Rights concerning the denial by the Moscow authorities of the right to demonstrate and freedom of assembly.

This latest application to the Strasbourg-based court is over the ban of a picket that was scheduled to take place last year on May 17 – International Day Against Homophobia.

The main aim of the banned picket was to demand the criminal prosecution of Moscow Mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, for systematic and unlawful bans of all public events staged by gays and lesbians in the Russian capital.

Notification for the picketing was sent to the Prefecture of the Central Administrative Area of Moscow in full accordance with the Russian law on May 13 2008.  The same day, the then Deputy Prefect, Galina Boryatinskaya, banned the event saying that “the aims of the picketing provoke negative reaction of the society and the conduct of the picketing can lead to group violations of public order which create threat to the security of the participants.”

Despite the ban of the picket, International Day Against Homophobia was marked when Moscow Pride organiser Nikolai Alekseev staged a one-man picket in front of the General Prosecution Offices on Bolshaya Dmitrovka and Petrovka streets.

He had a placard which read: “Article 149 of the Criminal Code was not repealed! Homophobia of Mayor Luzhkov should be prosecuted!”

According to Russian law, a one-man picketing does not need prior notification and can not be banned.  There were no protestors present at this picket.

Organisers of the banned picket appealed to the Taganskiy District Court of Moscow, despite, in a similar case the previous year, federal judge Yuliya Smolina had held that the ban imposed by the Prefecture was lawful.

In their latest complaint to the European Court of Human Rights, the organisers claim that Russian authorities breached a number of Articles of the European Convention including Article 11 (right to freedom of peaceful assembly), Article 14 (ban on discrimination on any basis – together with Article 11), as well as Article 13 (right to court protection – together with Article 11).

They are asking European Court to judge that Russia breached the rights given by the European Convention – and are asking for compensation of 100,000 euros.

The application sent to Strasbourg yesterday (January 27) and is the sixth complaint lodged with the Human Rights Court by Russian gay activists against the breach of the right to freedom of assembly for gays and lesbians in Russia.

Of the five previously sent to the court, two concern the bans of Moscow Gay Pride events in May 2006 and May 2007, and the remaining three concern the bans of various pickets during 2007.

The Court has yet to hold preliminary hearing on any of the cases/

“Our sixth complaint shows that the breaches of the right to freedom of assembly are now systematic in Russia,” principle organiser of Moscow Gay Pride, Nikolai Alekseev, said last night.

He added that he hoped that the court will soon consider out first case when the inaugural Moscow Gay Pride was banned in 2006.

“We are planning to fight for our rights until we win,” he insisted.

This year, the first Slavic Gay Pride is planned for May 16, the same day as the finals of thee Eurovision Contest which is televised live throughout Europe and beyond.