The court banned the activities of the Alliance of Heterosexuals and LGBT for Equality. 10 such organizations have already been included in the “extremist” register

The St. Petersburg City Court declared the “Alliance of Heterosexuals and LGBT for Equality” “extremist,” reported the human rights project “First Department.” The decision to ban the organization’s activities was made in two closed meetings, said queer rights lawyer Max Olenichev:

“The case materials were classified as “top secret.” The members of the Alliance did not know on what exact grounds the state was trying to ban the organization in Russia; the administrative claim was also classified as classified.

During the consideration of the case, it became known that the state considered the organization of online meetings, the distribution of information materials in the Alliance public and the holding of public events in the past to be “extremist” activities. This is the normal activity of any civil initiative, which by definition cannot be “extremist.”

The Ministry of Justice requested that the organization be included in the register. The department referred to the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, which previously considered the non-existent “International LGBT Social Movement” to be “extremist”.

The Alliance of Heterosexuals and LGBTs for Equality has become at least the tenth organization associated with the protection of the rights of queer people that Russian courts have deemed “extremist” in recent months for similar claims.

Previously, the register included the Russian LGBT Network, Irida, the Coming Out group, the Resource Center for LGBT in Yekaterinburg, the Guys+ media, the Moscow Community Center for LGBT+ Initiatives, the Callisto movement, the T Center initiative and the Novosibirsk project to support transpeople T9 NSK.

Such cases began to appear en masse after the decision of the Supreme Court of Russia, which in November 2023 recognized the non-existent “International LGBT Social Movement” as “extremist”. Now this decision is used as a basis for banning real human rights and educational initiatives.