Moscow university student sentenced to 15 days in jail for ‘displaying LGBT symbols’

A Russian university student has been sentenced to 15 days in jail for “displaying LGBT symbols”, the Moscow court press service reported Friday.

Danila Morozov, 22, was also fined 50,000 rubles (€500) for “discrediting the Russian army” in posts on his Telegram channel, which has since been deleted.

Morozov is a student at the Higher School of Economics and a member of the Youth Parliament, an advisory body to the Russian State Duma.

Following the ruling of the Russian Supreme Court in November deeming the “international LGBT movement” an “extremist organisation”, using queer-related symbols, such as pride flags, may now be seen as “displaying extremist symbols”.

This is not the first case of its kind: in March, a man was arrested and charged with using “extremist symbols” for allegedly sending a rainbow flag emoji in a private chat. The new ruling, which effectively outlaws queer activism in the country, prompted raids on gay venues and fines for people displaying queer flags or even wearing rainbow-coloured earrings.