Moscow: Signalling an important victory for
the country's gay community, authorities in Moscow have given
official permission to hold the first ever gay pride parade in
the Russian capital next month, organisers said on Tuesday.
In a statement published on the gay community's website
Nikolai Alekseev, Russia's top gay rights activist greeted the
decision with delight and noted that last October's ruling of
the Strasbourg-based European Human Rights Court's ruling was
a 'crippling blow' to Russian homophobia.
The Strasbourg Court fined Russia for banning gay parades
in Moscow and the authorities were told to pay USD 41,090 in
damages and for legal fees.
Gay campaigners who in the past had tried to march in
Moscow's Bolotnaya Square near the Kremlin without permission
have been physically assaulted by ultranationalists and
religious groups and had to face police high-handedness.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, April 26, 2011, 21:25