Translated material
In Voronezh, the complainant of a picket against HIV stigmatization of the gay community is threatened by the Ministry of Internal Affairs
In Voronezh, Viola Andrushchuk and Olga Muzyka, applicants for a picket against HIV stigmatization of the gay community, received a warning from the administration. It says that holding an event may violate the law "On the protection of children from information that is harmful to their health and development." In addition, Muzyka receives threats from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Voronezh Region, the activist herself told OVD-Info.
According to Muzyka, the picket is to take place in Hyde Park in Voronezh on December 1. It will be timed to coincide with World AIDS Day. According to Muzyka, they filed a notice with the administration on Friday, November 23, in order to have the official paper on hand.
The response from the administration came on Monday 26 November. It notes that holding a picket can be regarded as dissemination of information that denies family values and promotes non-traditional sexual relations.
After receiving the notification, Andrushchuk received a call from the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Voronezh and was invited to a meeting. At the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the head of the security department asked the activists why they decided to hold the rally. He also told them about how and what laws they could violate if they held a picket.
According to Muzyka, an Interior Ministry officer argued that activists during the picket could violate not only the rules for holding the event, but also the law banning gay propaganda. Also, in his words, they may be charged with "extremist articles" if "someone comes to the rally with a swastika." After the end of the meeting, the activists signed a document with
excerpts from the law "On counteracting extremist activity".
On November 28, Muzyka received a call from the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Voronezh Region. On the phone, a police officer asked her several times if she was still “insisting” on holding the event. He then said that information that threatens the activist's safety "can get out of any channel." In addition, he spoke about the risks for other participants in the action. An employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs invited Muzyka to come to a meeting, which she refused. After that, he said that he would send a written invitation to the activists.
“The very tone of the conversation, the wording chosen, and how often the employee spoke about possible risks that could come from anywhere created the feeling that they were calling solely to put pressure on them, and the meeting was needed to make it more effective,” Muzyka says. .
The day before the event, on November 30, Andrushchuk received a call from the city administration again and asked if they had read the warning and whether the planned action would take place.
On the same day, Andrushchuk received a call from the inspector of the security department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Voronezh. He asked whether the activists would hold the event, how many people would come and what inscriptions would be on the posters.