Russians Stop and Arrest Two Drag Queens as ‘Extremists'
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Two employees at an LGBT bar in central Russia have been arrested for organizing and hosting drag shows.
In Russia, such activities are now considered to be “running an ‘extremist LGBT organization’ ”. It is apparently the first such case since Russia labeled LGBT rights activities and the ill-defined “international LGBT movement” to be illegal late last year.
The arrests occurred earlier this month in Orenburg, 900 miles east of Moscow near the border of Kazakhstan. Yesterday, the Central District Court there ordered the two bar employees held for two months of pretrial custody.
Two bar workers in Russia became the first people charged under the anti-LGBTQ+ law
A Russian court has ordered two bar workers to be placed in custody, accusing them of roles in an “extremist organization”, under new legislation criminalizing the LGBTQ+ community.
It is the first criminal case of its kind since Russia banned the so-called “international LGBT movement” in November.
“The court chose a preventive measure for the art director and administrator of the Pose bar,” the Orenburg tribunal said. They will remain in custody until 18 May and could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted, according to the court. …
Russia has publicly put out only a vague description of what it calls the “international LGBT movement”, paving the way for the prosecution of anyone protecting LGBTQ+ rights or simply identifying with the community.
Police arrest Russian nightclub employees over drag show
… Club manager Diana Kamilyanova and art director Aleksandr Klimov were taken into custody following a police raid on the Pose nightclub in Orenburg this month. Assisting in the raid were members of the Russian Community of Orenburg [ROC], a pro-war Russian nationalist group that had reported the drag show to authorities. “Police and members of a local nationalist group, who had reported on the club, forced patrons and guests to lie face down on the floor,” Amnesty International said in a statement. “Performing drag queens were kept half-naked as their outfits and wigs were confiscated. The nationalist activists filmed the raid and posted the video online the same day.”
ROC posted a video of the raid as well as a list of seized items at Pose and the homes of employees to its Telegram channel. The list noted multiple video recorders, laptops, and smartphones, along with two dozen sets of women’s clothing, 15 wigs, and a set of false breasts. …
Last month, Russian police and undercover agents raided a Moscow nightclub featuring an unofficial gay night, kicking and beating patrons as they lay prone on a snowy sidewalk and also making nine arrests. On the same day, a convention in Tula dedicated to My Little Pony closed early after it was raided by police in search of illegal LGBTQ+ content.
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