Editor-DN
In Russia, at least seven people were fined for “appearing too gay” after a police raid on a nightclub in Tula in February, according to an analysis of court records by an independent Russian media outlet. runs
He was reportedly accused of ‘attempting to arouse interest in unconventional sex’, which has been illegal in Russia for a decade.
The charge is mainly levied on those posting pro-LGBT content – not those who dress ‘unmasculine’.
Video footage of the police raid showed men dressed in military-style uniforms and helmets detaining at least eight people, the Telegraph reported.
According to Vrstka, the detainees were allegedly wearing clothing that police suspected of promoting ‘unconventional sex’.
According to one report, one man allegedly had black tape crosses stuck to his nipples and was wearing a ‘female-style corset’ over his ‘bare’ body. It added that another sported ‘bright orange’ hair and ‘a red tattoo on his face’, wearing ‘pink socks’ as well as ‘an unbuttoned kimono’.
The arrests come as the Kremlin steps up its anti-LGBT crackdown to promote ‘traditional values’, including a ban on ‘propaganda promoting a child-free lifestyle’.
One man was reportedly wearing a crop top, black leather shorts and fishnet tights, another description noted.
Judges said the detainees’ clothing promoted an ‘unconventional’ sexual lifestyle and their appearance was ‘inconsistent with the image of a conventionally sexually oriented male’.
While eight people were detained, only seven were fined – eight, a male bartender, avoided a fine after arguing that he was a Goth.
This is not the only time Russian authorities have arrested party-goers. In November, police raided several bars and nightclubs in Moscow, allegedly criminalizing ‘LGBT propaganda’.
The decades-old legislation that punished them is often referred to as Russia’s ‘anti-gay law’.
