the owner of an LGBT+ bar arrested and accused of “extremism”

The administrator and artistic director of the bar in question were arrested on March 20 and targeted by the same charges, punishable by 10 years in prison in Russia.

He is accused “organizing extremist activities”. In a press release published on Sunday March 31, a court in the city of Orenburg, in the Russian Urals, announced that the owner of an LGBT+ bar was placed in detention at least until May 18. According to a local media, cited by AFP, the latter was arrested on March 28 at Moscow-Sheremetyevo international airport.

This announcement comes after the administrator and artistic director of this bar were arrested on March 20 and targeted by the same charges, punishable by 10 years in prison in Russia, where sexual minorities face increasing repression.

On March 9, police raided this bar in Orenburg, called Pose, in the middle of the night. Video from the scene showed people lying face down on the ground with their hands on their heads.

An increasingly repressive law

Even before their trial, the two Pose employees were placed on the list of designated persons “terrorists and extremists” in Russia, by virtue of the addition of “international LGBT movement” to the list of terrorist and extremist organizations recognized by the country, on March 22. As early as November, the Russian Supreme Court banned the “international LGBT movement” For “extremism”, using vague wording which opens the door to heavy penalties.

Since 2013, a law in Russia has banned “propaganda” aimed at minors for “non-traditional sexual relations”. This legislation was considerably expanded at the end of 2022, and now bans any form of reference to the LGBT+ community in the media, on the internet, in books and films.

Several Russians have recently been fined for, for example, posting photos featuring rainbow flags online or, in the case of two women, posting a video of their kiss online.