US campaigner against Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Dan Choi and International Day against Homophobia (IDAHO) founder Louis Georges Tin were among 18 arrested in Russia yesterday after attempting to celebrate Moscow Pride.
The event was scheduled for May 28th and organiser Nikolai Alexejev was determined that the event would go ahead, despite a ban by the capital’s mayor. The event is traditionally banned by the mayor but the incumbent was sacked last year, raising hopes that his replacement, Sergey Sobyanin would let Pride go ahead. These hopes were dashed last week and Moscow remains a Pride-free zone.
Police reported that 14 opponents were also arrested. The Pride marchers, however were peaceful, while many opponents were neo-nazis. The ban is illegal under European human rights legislation.