The Russian LGBT Network claimed the teen was not allowed to consult his lawyer when the officer was filing the report.
The group also suggested that Neverov could have been targeted because he took part in a highly public protest called “Gays or Putin,” in May.
The performance was discussed in the Russian federal legislative assembly, known as the Duma.
Neverov had previously submitted 12 applications for permission for the performance, and he was refused a permit. The teen also attempted to organise a local pride parade.
According to the network, in the teenagers case materials there was a document which reported that there was a public outcry over the pride parade.
The LGBT Network’s lawyer, Artem Lapov, has appealed the outcome and said the decision violated the right to freedom of expression.
In addition Lapov said the commission did not prove the fact that the discussed posts in the social networks were posted by Neverov, and he himself refused to testify.
The group is awaiting a decision to be made on the appeal.
Russia’s anti-gay propaganda law was passed in 2013 banning “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relationships.”
The country began to crackdown on LGBT+ activism across the country.
In Chechnya, Russia, Amnesty International has called on the Russian authorities to promptly and effectively investigate the reports of abduction, secret detention, torture and killing of men believed to be gay in the Chechen Republic.
Arsonists attacked the Lithuanian Gay League’s office in capital Vilnius. (lgl.lt/Instagram)
The office of the Lithuanian Gay League (LGL) – the country’s only non-governmental organization representing LGBT+ people – has reportedly been targeted in an arson attack.
The front door and door blinds of the organization’s office were set on fire, according to LGL.LGL said that a passing taxi driver stopped to put the fire out.
The group described the incident as a “vicious homophobic attack,” adding: “LGL believe that the incident was motivated by hate towards the local LGBT community and organization which represents their interests.”
“This incident clearly indicates that hate crimes on the ground of sexual orientation and gender identity remain an important issue in Lithuania,” said LGL’s executive director Vladimir Simonko in a statement released to PinkNews.
“It is dissapointing [sic] to see that such horrific crimes still take place in 2018 in the heart of our beautiful capital Vilnius.
“We would like to kindly thank the taxi driver who took the initiative to extinguish the fire and saved our offices from more major damages. We hope that the true motives of the incident will be duly clarified.”
PinkNews has contacted Vilnius’ police department for comment.
Founded in 1993, the LGL works for the progression of LGBT+ rights for people in the country.
Lithuania has a generally poor record on LGBT+ rights.
Although homosexuality was decriminalized in 1993, civil partnerships and equal marriage remain illegal in the country, and there are widespread socially negative attitudes towards sexuality and gender.
Lithuanian Gay League released photos of the damage on social media. (LGL/Facebook)
Same-sex adoption is also effectively illegal in the couple as, generally, parents must be married in order to adopt a child.
Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation was made illegal in 2005.
It is also difficult to legally change gender in Lithuania, which is normally only permitted following a court ruling and after surgery.
However, a European Court of Human Rights decision in April 2017 has meant that two trans men in Lithuania were allowed by the country’s courts to legally change their gender prior to having surgery.
The country’s LGBT+ groups are calling on the government to scrap the requirement for trans people to have gender reassignment surgery before they can change their gender on official documents.
Lithuania’s government has also taken some steps to show support for LGBT+ people in the country.
In May 2017, the country’s parliament marked International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia by lighting up Vilnius’City Hall in rainbow colors and hosting an exhbition with LGBT+ artists.
The first gay pride parade in the country took place in Vilnius in 2010.
Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan on Monday participated in a global LGBTI rights conference that took place in the Canadian city of Vancouver.Sullivan in video remarks at the 2018 Equal Rights Coalition Global Conference on LGBTI Human Rights and Inclusive Development said the U.S. “looks forward to exploring in concrete terms what we can do together to address criminalization of LGBTI status or conduct and the serious levels of violence and discrimination targeting LGBTI persons.”
“We are eager to discuss ways that the coalition can support and recognize governments and civil society activists who are pressing for positive reforms,” he said. “We encourage discussion on how the coalition can work collectively in global and regional fora and how we can better coordinate donor assistance.”
The Equal Rights Coalition, which officially launched in 2016, seeks to advance LGBTI rights around the world.
Canada and Chile currently co-chair the coalition that includes the U.S. and 38 other countries.
“This coalition, like our societies, is strengthened by our diversity,” said Sullivan in his remarks. “As deputy secretary of state, I have sought to strengthen and advance this issue not only overseas but also within the United States government. I’ve learned that accounting for diversity strengthens our own resolve and enables us to learn about innovative approaches that benefit all. Respectful dialogue yields positive outcomes. We value your active engagement, unique perspectives, and diverse views. Our collective success depends on it.”
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Scott Busby; Deputy Assistant Attorney General Robert Moossy; Anthony Cotton of the U.S. Agency for International Development and three other State Department officials attended the conference. Hundreds of LGBTI rights advocates from the U.S. and around the world were also in Vancouver.
“I’m proud that our delegation from the United States includes senior representatives from the Department of State, Department of Justice and USAID,” said Sullivan. “We are striving to do better by sharing our own challenges, particularly in addressing bias-motivated violence targeting the LGBTI community and ensuring development assistance is truly inclusive.”
“Addressing the threats and unique human rights challenges of LGBTI persons will require our unflagging vigilance,” he added. “As our coalition works to uphold human rights and fundamental freedoms, the United States will remain a steadfast partner. We encourage a frank and honest exchange of views in the coming days and continued collaboration with our coalition partners to ensure that no one is left behind.”
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland also spoke at the two-day conference that began on Monday.
“We are proud to advocate for rights around the world,” she said at the conference’s opening. “But we do that from an understanding that we are far from perfect here, that we have a great deal of work still to do in Canada.”
The conference began a day after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau marched in Vancouver’s annual Pride parade.
Trudeau last November formally apologized to those who suffered persecution and discrimination under Canada’s anti-LGBTI laws and policies. LGBTI activists and members of Canada’s indigenous community are urging the Canadian government to do more to further address abuses committed against them.
Canadian MP Randy Boissonnault, who advises Trudeau on LGBTI issues, on Tuesday announced his government will earmark 1 million Canadian dollars ($765,828.70) for advocacy groups around the world.
The Canadian government late last week urged Saudi Arabia to release women’s rights activists who were arrested. The Saudi government on Monday announced the expulsion of Canada’s ambassador to the country and suspended new trade agreements with Ottawa.
The Trump administration continues to face criticism over a host of issues that include its anti-LGBTI policies in the U.S., its policy that effectively bans the citizens of five Muslim-majority nations from entering the U.S. and the continued separation of migrant children from their parents. The State Department nevertheless continues to publicly support LGBTI rights abroad.
The Portland Mercury reported that after being threatened by police in the Russian North Caucasus region, near the border of the notoriously anti-gay Chechnya, Dmitri (a pseudonym to protect his identity) decided to flee to the US in spite of knowing neither English nor any people in the states.
“Most asylum seekers fly to the United States on a tourist visa and then, once they arrive, request asylum,” reporter Katie Herzog wrote. “But Dmitri had applied for a tourist visa four times before, and each time his application was rejected.”
Instead, Dmitri “took the long way,” flying from Moscow to France, Cuba and finally Tijuana, Mexico, where he surrendered himself to authorities who detained him. In the past, most asylum-seekers were granted a bond hearing every six months, but in February, Herzog noted, the Supreme Court reversed the decision that gave that entitlement. Asylum-seekers can now be held indefinitely while awaiting hearings, “even if they haven’t committed a crime.”
“The implications of this policy are playing out most visibly on the southern border” with Donald Trump’s family separation policy. In Dmitri’s case, however, it led to him being sent to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington — a place he’d never heard of prior to surrendering to agents at Tijuana.
Herzog noted that although only 37 percent of immigrants nationwide have attorneys due to their cases taking place in civil (rather than criminal) court, Dmitri got lucky and found a lawyer “through fellow detainees at the prison.” He spent five months at the Northwest Detention Center before his hearing, where Portland-based Judge Richard Zanfardino teleconferenced in to preside over his case.
In most cases, the report noted, queer and transgender Russians are able to get asylum in the US because judges “understand that being LGBTQ could get you murdered in Russia.” Zanfardino, however, did not agree with that general consensus and argued that it’s not illegal to engage in homosexual activity in Russia.
Russian law, the judge wrote in his decision, “does not criminalize an individual for being homosexual but instead criminalizes speech considered pro-LGBTI” — leaving out that it is illegal to be out of the closet in the country. Herzog wrote that Zanfardino also denied the claim because Dmitri “also denied the claim because Dmitri had secretly dated men in the past without suffering physical harm.”
Kimahli Powell, the director of the Rainbow Road organization that helps queer and trans people get to safety around the world, said Zanfardino is “is basically condemning [Dmitri] to violence” with the ruling.
The bisexual Russian’s lawyer plans to appeal the claim, a process that could take between six months to a year. When and if that appeal is denied (which is likely, Herzog wrote), the attorney will then take the case to federal court.
In the meantime, Dmitri will remain in a prison where he said he is very cold, playing cards and learning English.
A new United Nations report on violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity has found that bi women are more at risk from sexual violence.
The report was presented at the 38th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva this month.
It also found that LGBTQ people are generally more at risk of physical and sexual violence then their heterosexual counterparts.
The report claims: ‘Research reveals that bisexual persons are more prone than lesbian or gay persons to experience intimate partner violence, with shocking rates of intimate partner violence, domestic violence, rape, and sexual assault.’
It furthermore notes: ‘Trans and gender non-conforming persons, especially when they are persons of color, belong to ethnic minorities or are migrants, living with HIV, or sex workers, are particularly at risk of violence, including of killing, beatings, mutilation, rape, and other forms of abuse and maltreatment.’
Some 69% of bi woman respondents said they have been raped or suffered physical violence and/or stalking from a partner. The number for bi men is 37%.
Meanwhile, 698,000 LGBTQ respondents said they had undergone conversion therapy, half of whom while they were teenagers.
Another statistic to emerge from the report is that 2,609 trans and gender non-confirming people have been murdered across 71 countries between 2008 and 2017. However, the number is believed to be much higher due to a lack of accurate data.
Cristina Palma, from Australia, married her partner Mariama Diallo in France in 2016, having met in Sydney 15 years ago.
The couple moved to Bulgaria together shortly afterwards. However, Palma’s application to continue her residency in the country was rejected in 2017.Palma then started a lawsuit over the refusal of her residency, which she won on June 29, when the Sofia court ruled in her favour.
It’s believed to be the first time Bulgaria – a country where gay marriage and same-sex adoption remains illegal – has recognised the rights of a same-sex married couple in a case like this.
In January 2018, the European Court of Justice ruled that all EU nations have to recognise the rights of same-sex spouses, even if the government has not legalised equal marriage.
The historic case has been lauded by LGBT+ rights campaigners in the country.
Sofia Pride, which was held last month, posted on Facebook: “In a historic decision published on 29 June 2018, the Sofia City Administrative Court ruled in favour of a same-sex couple – Cristina and Mariama – who fought for their right to reside as a married couple in Bulgaria!
“This ruling is of paramount importance for us as a community because it gives hope to all same-sex couples, regardless of their citizenship, that their families will be recognized in Bulgaria!”
Palma, meanwhile, posted on Twitter: “We are part of making History in the #LGBT movement in Bulgaria.”
In an open letter addressed to the organisers of Sofia Pride opposition leader Korneliya Ninova turned down the invite to attend the event in the nation’s capital on June 8.
The Bulgarian Socialist Party is the main opposition party in the country, and is considered more liberal than the right-wing GERB, which stands for Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, which is currently in power.
The BSP has the biggest membership base of all political parties in Bulgaria, with 105,000 members as of 2016.
“Thank you for your invitation towards me and all members of our team to get involved on Sofia Pride 2018,” Ninova wrote in an open letter to the chair of the Sofia Pride organisational committee.
“As far as your message towards me, accept my respect for LGBT people, but I also trust you will respect differences of opinion. Mine is the same as the 75 percent of Bulgarians, which you refer to in your letter.
“I am against same-sex marriages and the ability of same-sex people to adopt children. Of course, this is a personal position, which does not bind anyone else.”
Today, just ahead of tomorrow’s Trump-Putin summit in Helsinki, HRC projected an enormous message onto the Presidential Palace in Helsinki demanding that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin immediately end the ongoing anti-LGBTQ crimes against humanity occurring in the Russian republic of Chechnya.
For more than 15 months, Donald Trump and his administration have refused to publicly condemn the systematic torture, abuse, and murder of LGBTQ people occurring in Chechnya as Vladimir Putin has licensed the violence to continue. More than a 100 LGBTQ people have been rounded up, tortured, and abused — and as many as 20 have been murdered.
HRC’s message was projected onto the side of the Presidential Palace where the delegations and press corps are gathering for Monday’s summit.
“Trump has unconscionably turned a blind eye to some of the worst anti-LGBTQ atrocities in a generation, including monstrous attacks on gay and bisexual men in Chechnya,” said Ty Cobb, Director of HRC Global. “HRC is here in Helsinki to demand Donald Trump end his deafening silence, publicly condemn these Chechen crimes against humanity, and call on Putin to investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
A gay couple were publicly flogged in the Aceh province of Indonesia earlier today.
The two men were flogged 80 times for having gay sex, which is forbidden under local Muslim law.
In total, 15 people were publicly punished for “inappropriate behaviour,” including infractions such as drinking or selling alcohol and showing affection in public.
While Indonesia has the biggest Muslim population in the world, the Aceh province is the only province in the country to implement Sharia law.The province officials pledged to stop public demonstrations of the practice after another case of public flogging drew international outrage last year, however, the floggings remain.
According to AFP, the two men were the second gay couple to endure the punishment this year. Public flogging is a common occurrence in the region. It covers all sorts of crimes, including gambling, sex out of wedlock and the consumption of alcohol.
1,000 bystanders watched and encouraged the men carrying out the punishment, asking them to “flog them harder.” This included tourists from Malaysia.
According to Human Rights Watch, the local Sharia law “empowers members of the public as well as the special Sharia police to publicly identify and detain anyone suspected of violating its rules.”
A gay couple aged 20 and 23, were found guilty of having broken sharia rules in conservative Aceh province in 2017. (CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN/AFP/Getty)
An earlier case of public flogging outraged the international community in 2017. Two young men had been sentenced to received 85 floggings. Their flat was raided by vigilantes.
Human Rights Watch then called for Aceh to abandon Sharia law and for Indonesia’s President Jokowi Widodo to condemn the practice.
“The clock is ticking for Jokowi to demonstrate that his support of equal rights for all is not empty rhetoric. He needs to start by protecting these two young men from torture,” said Human Rights Watch’s deputy Asia director.
“Jokowi needs to be clear to Aceh’s authorities that flogging is torture for which they will be held to account,” he added.
The two men, respectively 20 and 23 years old, were still flogged in public. It was the first time that gay men were flogged for having consensual sex in Indonesia.
Widodo said he was a supporter of the LGBT community and called for the practice to cease. While officials in the province said they would abandon public floggings and continue the practice in prisons, they are yet to deliver.
In 2016, the then-deputy mayor warned locals of the “LGBT threat” and vowed to create a special team to “train” members of the LGBT community to return to “normal lives.”
Pride in London was heavily criticised on Saturday for allowing a small anti-trans group to lead the parade. They have now issued an apology and condemned the protest as against the spirit of Pride.
“Yesterday a group of individuals labelled as “Get The L Out!”, who were not a registered parade group, forced their way to the front of the parade to stand on the rainbow flag. Their behaviour was shocking and disgusting, and we condemn it completely.
“The lesbian board members at Pride in London made their anger towards the unsanctioned group clear and our organisation as a whole condemns their actions. The protest group showed a level of bigotry, ignorance and hate that is unacceptable.
“We reject what this group stands for. They do not share our values, which are about inclusion and respect and support for the most marginalised parts of our community.
“We are proud of our trans volunteers, proud of the trans groups that are in our parade, proud of our trans speakers at events and proud of the trans people who take part in our campaigns and proud of those who cheered even louder for them yesterday.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (C) opens the Pride In London parade alongside Tory minister Penny Mordaunt (far left) and London Night Czar Amy Lamé (centre-left) (Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Pride In London)
The statement goes on to say the group – who initially stood on the rainbow flag that flies ahead of floats down the parade route – were placed in front of the parade to separate them from main attendees, as at that time they could not be arrested.
As Pride in London places heavy restrictions on numbers and has security as well as police officers for public safety during the parade, questions will be raised as to whether it would be necessary for an arrest able offence to be committed to remove anyone from an unauthorised area of an event.
The statement says “Sadly, we could not forcibly remove the group as their protest was not a criminal offence. They demanded to march behind the rainbow flag, which marks the official start of our parade. We did not allow that as we did not want to legitimise them or their message.
“We moved them to an area far in front of the official parade start to separate them. We are looking at what we could do differently if something like this happens again.
“The Pride goers who were in London yesterday told us that the actions of 8 people did not stop the joy and love that was demonstrated by the 30,000 people who followed. They tell us that cheers for our trans siblings were even louder.
“We are distraught by the messages and the hurt that has been caused and we held an urgent meeting with the Community Advisory Board this morning. We have also spoken to a number of individuals and groups including trans activists and Stonewall.
“As volunteers, we are shocked and appalled by this behaviour, not least because some felt threatened by the protesters. We are treating this extremely seriously and will be reviewing what happened with the Greater London Authority, the Metropolitan Police, Westminster City Council, TfL and continuing to consult with our Community Advisory Board.
“We will also be working with groups who have offered support given this issue must be stamped out and we will do everything we can to use our platform for good.
“Again, we are sorry to any of our trans siblings and their allies who have been affected.”
(Image – Nick Duffy)
Representatives from Pride in London also issued personal statements, with Patricia Curtis, Board Member of South London group TransPALS saying –
“It’s disappointing that anti-trans activists decided to hijack the front of a parade, an insult to all the hardworking staff in the NHS whose place they stole.”
“But their vile stunt failed. London is a place that doesn’t tolerate hate. The reaction of the crowds to our groups was inspiring. We felt their support and goodwill all the way from Portland Place to Trafalgar Square.
“Pride must look at what happened and see what lessons need to be learned before next year.
“We urge all our fellow Londoners to respond to the Government’s consultation on reforms to the Gender Recognition Act.”
And Kristine Garina, President of European Pride Organisers Association, emphasising the role of trans people in the Pride movement and once again condemning the actions of the group.
“The Pride movement was begun by trans people and trans people must always be welcome at Pride. We utterly condemn the transphobic, hateful protestors who blocked the Pride in London Parade yesterday.
Hate has no place at Pride, and we stand with the organisers who have promised to review what happened to try and ensure it cannot happen again.”
Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo has said that rainbow crossings in the city – vandalised twice in one week with homophobic graffiti – will be made permanent.
The Pride-themed crossings were installed for Paris Pride, Marche des Fiertés, at the end of June.
However, the rainbow additions were targeted by vandals twice in one week – on June 25 and June 28 – who covered them with paint and scrawled homophobic messages, including “LGBT get out of France” and “LGBT dictatorship.”
The vandalism was promptly cleaned up and widely condemned, including by mayor Hidalgo.“Paris is a safe haven that embraces the republican values of freedom, equality and fraternity,” she wrote on Twitter.
“For they fall forever in its walls, crosswalks rainbow sky created for #MarcheFesFiertés will be permanent!”
(Anne_Hidalgo/Twitter)
The unidentified vandals also wrote “Hidalgo dégage” on one of the crossings, which translates to “Hidalgo get out,” in a direct message to the mayor.
One Paris resident had posted photos of the vandalised crossings to Twitter, adding: “These homophobic tags are a reflection of all the discrimination and violence faced by LGBTQIs everywhere in France and in the world, we will fight them relentlessly.”
Mayor Hidalgo had earlier responded to the vandalism, tweeting: “Last night the rainbow crosswalk in Marais has been vandalized again. This act of homophobia won’t go unpunished.
“The Prosecutor of the Republic will be seized. The municipal agents will clean up this morning.”
She also posted a video to Twitter of graffiti being removed from a rainbow crossing using a jet-wash.
Hidalgo added: “Thanks to the agents of the City of Paris, already on the ground to once again clean the rainbow pedestrian crossings of the Marais.”
The second time the crossings were vandalised. (Christine Rougemont / Facebook)
Many prominent LGBT people and allies also condemned the repeated vandalism.
Following the first incident, openly gay Deputy Mayor Bruno Julliard said: “The homophobic degradation of our city’s rainbow decorations is unacceptable.
“This new manifestation of hideous hatred will only strengthen our determination to fight against discrimination without fail.”
Out politician Jean-Luc Romero added: “Anti-LGBTQI hatred struck at the heart of Paris. Our answer is Saturday, when hundreds of thousands of people will parade for the Pride Walk!”
This move has been welcomed by many in Paris’ LGBT community, with one person writing: “After this vandalism, I expect Hidalgo to repaint all pedestrian crossings in Paris the colours of the rainbow.”
