MOSCOW (AP) — Russian police raided a number of bars and nightclubs throughout Moscow on Saturday as a part of the federal government’s crackdown on “LGBTQ+ propaganda,” state media reported.
Smartphones, laptops and video cameras have been seized, whereas clubgoers had their paperwork inspected by officers, Russia’s Tass information company stated, citing sources in legislation enforcement.
The raids come precisely a 12 months since Russia’s Supreme Court dominated that the “LGBTQ+ motion” must be banned as an “extremist group.”
Its choice adopted a decades-long crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights in Russia, the place President Vladimir Putin has touted “conventional household values” as a cornerstone of his quarter-century in energy.
Footage shared on social media appeared to indicate partygoers being ordered by police to lie on the ground as officers moved via Moscow’s Arma nightclub.
The capital’s Mono bar was additionally focused, Russian media reported. In a publish on Telegram on Saturday, the membership’s administration didn’t immediately reference an incident with legislation enforcement, however wrote, “Friends, we’re so sorry that what occurred, occurred. They didn’t discover something forbidden. We stay in such occasions, however life should go on.”
Police additionally detained the pinnacle of the “Men Travel” tour company on Saturday below anti-LGBT legal guidelines, Tass reported. The information company stated that the 48-year-old was suspected of making ready a visit for “the supporters of nontraditional sexual values” to go to Egypt over Russia’s New Year’s holidays.
The raids mirror the issues of Russian activists who warned that Moscow’s designation of the “LGBTQ+ motion” as “extremist” — regardless of it not being an official entity — may see Russian authorities crack down at will on teams or people.
Other latest legal guidelines have additionally served to place strain on people who the Russian authorities believes aren’t in step with the nation’s “conventional values.”
On Nov. 23, Putin signed into legislation a invoice banning the adoption of Russian kids by residents of nations the place gender-affirming care is authorized.
The Kremlin chief additionally authorised laws that outlaws the unfold of fabric that encourages folks to not have kids.
