Breaking news: European Court of Human Rights rules Russia must allow LGBT Pride marches
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg today ruled that by repeatedly banning LGBT Pride marches, Russia breached Articles 11 (freedom of assembly and association), 13 (right to an effective remedy) and 14 (prohibition of discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Sophie in’t Veld MEP reacted to the news:
I was myself at two Pride marches in Moscow in 2006 and 2007, and I am delighted by the outcome of this case! We’ve seen that Russian authorities have recently taken steps forward to allow for certain LGBT events and more general demonstrations for the first time ever; let us hope the Court’s ruling will contribute to a climate of further democratisation in Russia, allowing it to join the family of democratic and free nations, and allow LGBT people to finally take their rightful place in society.
Who knows, this will pave the way to one day taking part in a real celebratory Pride march in Moscow… that would be fantastic.
The European Court of Human Rights (Credit: Marcella Bona/flickr)
Updated on 25 October @ 11:30 CET.
