First publicly known cases

Russians are fined or jailed over rainbow-coloured items

TALLINN, Estonia — The first publicly known cases have emerged of Russian authorities penalizing people under a court ruling that outlawed LGBTQ+ activism as extremism, Russian media and rights groups have reported, with at least three people who displayed rainbow-coloured items receiving jail time or fines.

The Supreme Court ruling in November banned what the government called the LGBTQ+ “movement” operating in Russia and labelled it as an extremist organisation. The ruling was part of a crackdown on LGBTQ+ people in the increasingly conservative country where “traditional family values” have become a cornerstone of President Vladimir Putin’s 24-year rule.

Russian laws prohibit public displays of symbols of extremist organizations, and LGBTQ+ rights advocates have warned that those displaying rainbow-coloured flags or other items might be targeted by the authorities.

On Monday, a court in Saratov, a city 730 kilometres (453 miles) southeast of Moscow, handed a 1500-ruble (roughly $F35) fine to artist and photographer Inna Mosina over several Instagram posts depicting rainbow flags, Russia’s independent news site Mediazona reported. The case contained the full text of the Supreme Court ruling, which named a rainbow flag the “international” symbol of the LGBTQ+ “movement.”

Ms Mosina and her defence team maintained her innocence, according to the reports. Ms Mosina said the posts were published before the ruling, at a time when rainbow flags were not regarded by authorities as extremist, and her lawyer argued that a police report about her alleged wrongdoing was filed before the ruling took force. The court ordered her to pay the fine nonetheless.

Last week, a court in Nizhny Novgorod, some 400 kilometres (248 miles) east of Moscow, ordered Anastasia Yershova to serve five days in jail on the same charge for wearing rainbowcoloured earrings in public, Mediazona reported. In Volgograd, 900 kilometres (559 miles) south of Moscow, a court fined a man 1000 rubles (about $F24) for allegedly posting a rainbow flag on social media, local court officials reported Thursday, identifying the man only as Artyom P.