A Russian man arrested for allegedly operating a journey company for homosexual prospects was discovered useless in custody in Moscow, rights group OVD-Info reported Sunday, amid a crackdown on LGBTQ rights in Russia.
According to OVD-Info, which tracks political arrests, Andrei Kotov — director of the “Men Travel” company — confronted costs of “organizing extremist exercise and collaborating in it.”
OVD-Info stated an investigator instructed Kotov’s lawyer that her shopper had died by suicide early Sunday whereas in pretrial detention and was discovered useless in his cell.
Prior to Kotov’s demise, unbiased media outlet Mediazona reported earlier this month that Kotov had rejected the costs and stated in courtroom that regulation enforcement officers beat him and administered electrical shocks throughout the arrest, despite the fact that he didn’t resist.
Just over a yr in the past, Russia’s Supreme Court successfully outlawed any LGBTQ activism in a ruling that designated “the worldwide LGBT motion” as extremist. The transfer uncovered anybody locally or linked to it to prison prosecution and jail, ushering in an environment of concern and intimidation.
The LGBTQ neighborhood in Russia has been beneath authorized and public strain for over a decade however particularly for the reason that Kremlin despatched troops to Ukraine in 2022. Russian chief Vladimir Putin has argued that the conflict is a proxy battle with the West, which he says goals to destroy Russia and its “conventional household values” by pushing for LGBTQ rights.
