Clubgoers detained by Russian security forces Saturday night
As many as a dozen individuals rounded up at gay clubs in Moscow this past weekend have been found guilty of “hooliganism” by a Russian court and sentenced to administrative detention.
Three clubs were raided by Russian security forces Saturday night into Sunday morning “as part of measures to combat LGBT propaganda,” according to reporting by the Russian state-run TASS news agency.
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The raids occurred at at least three nightclubs in the Russian capital, including Arma, Inferno, and Mono. Video of the incidents shows heavily armed men shouting orders at clubgoers seated on the floor with their hands over their heads.
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Young men at the Mono nightclub were handed military draft notices by police, according to one source who spoke with news outlet Vyorstka,
A statement from the Lefortovo District Court in Moscow said the detained clubgoers were found guilty of petty hooliganism and disrupting public order.
“These citizens committed an administrative offense, which was expressed in obvious disrespect for society, accompanied by obscene language in a public place,” the statement read.
The raids coincide with the one-year anniversary of Russia’s designation of the LGBTQ+ “movement” as an “extremist” organization. Russians found guilty of extremism face up to 12 years in prison.
Independent news website Mediazona reported the detained clubgoers were arrested for up to 15 days for administrative offenses, including swearing at Russian security forces, according to the court’s website.
Telegram channel Baza reported security forces blocked club exits at Arma for three hours as they interrogated patrons and detained dozens. During the operation, police seized electronic devices, weapons and alcohol.
🚨🇷🇺🏳️🌈MOSCOW CLUB RAIDS TARGET “LGBT PROPAGANDA”
Moscow police raided nightclubs on the anniversary of LGBT being labeled an “extremist movement” in Russia.
They went into full treasure hunt mode, seizing electronics, weapons, and even the booze that was supposedly sold under… pic.twitter.com/U7NCcAVPv3
During the same raid, the director of a travel agency for gay men was arrested for “organizing tours for members of the LGBT community,” according to The Moscow Times.
The crackdown follows a pattern of government-sanctioned harassment directed at the LGBTQ+ community after President Vladimir Putin’s government outlawed the so-called “international LGBT movement” in Russia last year. Putin has also instituted successively broader anti-LGBTQ+ “propaganda laws” since 2013. Raids and arrests at LGBTQ+ clubs have become commonplace across the country.
In November, Russian legislators approved two new laws directed at promoting “traditional family values.” One amends the current prohibition of “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations and (or) preferences or gender reassignment” to include outlawing the promotion of not having children.
The other law bans citizens of countries that allow gender transitioning from adopting Russian children. 12 countries currently outlaw all forms of gender transition, including Russia.
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