HRW blasts 'homophobic' Russian bill
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 4 November 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, HRW blasts 'homophobic' Russian bill, 4 November 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/56813ce4e.html [accessed 1 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
November 04, 2015
By RFE/RL
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on Russian lawmakers to reject a draft law that would penalize lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals who publicly reveal their sexual orientation.
In a November 4 statement, Tanya Cooper, Russia researcher at the New-York-based group, described the bill as "a new and absurd low in discriminatory legislative proposals."
The draft law, registered on October 29 in Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, would introduce fines and potential jail time for individuals who "publicly" express "nontraditional sexual orientations" and for those who "demonstrate their aberrant sexual preferences in public."
Rights groups and Western governments have denounced what they call a concerted government effort to restrict the rights of LGBT individuals in Russia, including a controversial 2013 law that bans spreading "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" among minors.
"This draft is yet another example of how the 2013 law opened the floodgate to further discrimination against LGBT people," Cooper said. "It protects no one and punishes people for exercising their right to freedom of expression."
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
