LGBT activists appealed to the ECHR the Ministry of Justice's refusal to register the Pride House in Sochi, created to combat homophobia

LGBT activists appealed to the European Court of Human Rights in connection with the refusal of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation to register the Pride House in Sochi.

The Pride House is a traditional form for the Olympic and Paralympic Games of drawing public attention to LGBT culture and problems associated with the rejection of homosexuality in society. At each Olympics, members of the LGBT movement organize their own national pride houses, visiting which you can get acquainted with gay culture, literature and films that raise questions about the life of the modern gay movement, as well as attitudes towards homosexuality in sports.

The founding congress of the Russian Pride House was held on October 14, 2011, and the registration documents were submitted to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for the Krasnodar Territory on October 19, 2011.

However, on November 16, the Ministry of Justice refused to register the pride house on the grounds that it was impossible “to use foreign words in the name of the organization if there are Russian analogues.” The founders of the organization appealed against the decision of the Ministry of Justice in the Pervomaisky Court of Krasnodar, but on February 20 of the following year, the refusal to register was recognized as legal. Moreover, judge Svetlana Mordovina went beyond the grounds for the refusal itself, recognizing the goals of the organization as “contrary to the law”.

The District Court's decision reads as follows:

_- “since the charter of the Krasnodar regional regional sports public movement “Pride House in Sochi” provides for informing about the LGBT movement in Russia, it will be able to have a massive ideological impact on citizens, and the goals of the movement should not contradict the foundations of law and order or public morality.” _

_- “such goals of the movement as the formation of an understanding of the need to fight against homophobia, the creation of a positive attitude towards LGBT athletes contradict the foundations of public morality, since they are aimed at increasing the number of citizens of sexual minorities, which violates the prevailing ideas in society about good and evil, good and bad, vice and virtue." _

_- “the court finds no reason to satisfy the requirement to impose the obligation on the person concerned to register the Krasnodar Regional Regional Sports Public Movement “Pride House in Sochi”, since the constituent documents of this legal entity do not comply with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation, and the goals contradict the foundations of public morality, the policy of the state in the field of protecting the family, motherhood and childhood, the activity of the movement entails propaganda of non-traditional sexual orientation, which can lead to undermining the security of Russian society and the state, incite social, religious hatred and enmity, which is also a sign of the extremist nature of the activity, in addition, it can undermine sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation due to the reduction of its population. _

The activists in their complaint to the Strasbourg Court claim that the Russian authorities violated three articles of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms - Article 11 (the right to freedom of association ), Article 14 ( the prohibition of discrimination ) and Article 13 ( the right to judicial protection ). In doing so, they demanded 200,000 euros in compensation for non-pecuniary damage from the Russian government .

Due to the fact that there is less and less time left before the Winter Olympics, the founders of the Pride House in Sochi intend to seek priority consideration of the complaint in the European Court. Nikolai Alekseev noted that alternative options for opening the Pride House during the Sochi Olympics are still being developed.

Alekseev told Novaya Gazeta that the main option under consideration now is to arrange a so-called “mobile pride house”. According to him, negotiations are now underway with foreign colleagues on the possibility of opening a representative office in the pride houses of other countries: every day in different ones. In addition, a plan is being developed to organize international sports competitions between the Olympics and the Paralympics, in which members of the gay community will participate.