OUR LATEST ISSUE
SITE SEARCH
Gay News: The Mayor of Moscow is a criminal and should be put on trial, said gay rights activist Peter Tatchell in the Russian capital.
By: Nigel Robinson
Luzhkow has called Gay Prides Satanic
Luzhkow has called Gay Prides Satanic
Moscow Mayor is a criminal, says Tatchell
Tatchell was referring to the decision of Mayor Yury Luzhkov to ban the Moscow Gay Pride march scheduled for Saturday 29 May.
This will be the fifth time that the Mayor has banned the parade, referring to such events as “Satanic”, and the “propaganda” of same-sex love as “inadmissible” and a “social plague”.
"The ban on Moscow Pride is illegal and Mayor Luzhkov is a criminal for banning it,” said Tatchell at a press conference in Moscow.
“He should be put on trial for violating the Russian constitution.
“The real criminals are not the organisers of Moscow Pride, but the Mayor of Moscow and the judges who uphold this illegal ban."
Tatchell, who described the ban as a violation not just of gay rights but of human rights, went on to criticise the Russian President Medvedev and his Prime Minister Putin for failing to overturn the ban.
“I call on the Russian President and Prime Minister to show leadership by publicly condemning the ban and by calling on the Mayor of Moscow to lift it," he said.
“They should ensure freedom of expression and the right to protest to all the citizens of Moscow and Russia, gay and straight.”
Nikolai Alexeyev, the organiser of Moscow Pride, said he would go to court to try and appeal against the ban, but admitted that he was not hopeful that the ruling would be overturned.
“Mayor Luzhkov is not a great lover of democracy, human rights or gay people,” Alexeyev said. “Whatever the courts decide, the right to protest is guaranteed under the Russian constitution and we intend to exercise our rights.”
Despite the ban, Alexeyev insisted that the Gay Pride march would take place on Saturday.
Last year’s illegal Gay Pride march was broken up by riot police, and in 2007 Peter Tatchell was beaten up by anti-gay protesters.
He vowed, however, to take place in tomorrow’s demonstration.
"I am unbowed and defiant," he said. "We will carry on this fight until we win."
