The Ministry of Justice discovered signs of a “foreign agent” in the activities of an HIV service NPO

The Ministry of Justice has identified signs of an NGO performing the functions of a “foreign agent” in the activities of the Phoenix PLUS organization, which is engaged in HIV prevention among the gay community. The organization plans to liquidate because of this. This was reported on the Guys PLUS website.

The ministry saw political activity in publications on the Guys PLUS website, which does not belong to the Phoenix PLUS organization. As such publications, the Ministry of Justice indicated material on the ineffectiveness of state HIV prevention in Russia.

“The chairman of the organization [Phoenix PLUS] Pisemsky E. A. draws attention to the lack of attention from government bodies to a group of homosexual people due to stigmatization in society, and as a result, distortion of official statistics,” says Guys PLUS "quote from the ministry's act. Based on this, the Ministry of Justice came to the conclusion that the NPO forms “views and beliefs regarding the state policy of the Russian Federation in the field of violations of LGBT rights.”

Foreign funding of Phoenix PLUS, according to the chairman of the organization, Evgeniy Pisemsky, has never been hidden. “We would be happy to receive Russian funding, but at the moment in Russia there is no state funding for HIV prevention programs among the gay community. In general,” says the chairman.

In 2016, the Ministry of Justice recognized two HIV service organizations as foreign agents: the Andrey Rylkov Foundation (works with drug users) and the Sibalt Center . In 2018, the St. Petersburg organization for combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic and protecting the health of socially vulnerable groups “Center for Social and Information Initiatives “Action”” was also recognized as a foreign agent.