Russian Justice Ministry bans ‘LGBT movement’ as ‘extremist organization’

The Russian Supreme Court has granted the Justice Ministry’s request to ban the “international LGBT movement” as an “extremist organization.”

The hearing was held behind closed doors on November 30. Journalists were not allowed into the courtroom until the judge’s announcement of the ruling. It took Supreme Court Judge Oleg Nefedov four hours to come to a decision.

The Russian Justice Ministry filed its request for the Supreme Court to ban the “international LGBT movement” on November 17. No such organization existed in Russia at the time the lawsuit was filed, and the ministry did not specify what entity it was referring to.

Human rights activists have warned that the ban is likely to lead to an increase in harassment and persecution against LGBTQ+ people.