Statement on the murder of human rights & LGBTQ activist Yelena Grigorieva

On 19 July, the body of Yelena Grigorieva, prominent LGBT rights and human rights activist in Russia, was found near her home in St. Petersburg with eight stab wounds and signs that she had been strangled.
Yelena Grigorieva was one of the activists listed together with other well-known activists from the country on a website encouraging people to hunt down LGBT people and activists. While we do not know yet whether the murder and the website are connected, we do know that her name was listed since 2018 and up until one week before her death, when it was blocked by Russian authorities.
We are extremely concerned with the growing climate of fear in which LGBTI people and human rights defenders live in Russia.

We call on the Russian authorities to :

On 19 July, the body of Yelena Grigorieva, prominent LGBT rights and human rights activist in Russia, was found near her home in St. Petersburg with eight stab wounds and signs that she had been strangled.
Yelena Grigorieva was one of the activists listed together with other well-known activists from the country on a website encouraging people to hunt down LGBT people and activists. While we do not know yet whether the murder and the website are connected, we do know that her name was listed since 2018 and up until one week before her death, when it was blocked by Russian authorities.
We are extremely concerned with the growing climate of fear in which LGBTI people and human rights defenders live in Russia

We call on the Russian authorities to :

• firmly condemn this atrocious act, and to take a stand against violence, intimidation and discrimination against LGBTI people in Russia ;

• carry a thorough investigation on Yelena Grigorieva’s murder and to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice ;

• carry out a full investigation on the origins of the website on which Yelena Grigorieva was listed, to identify its authors and bring them to justice, and to offer adequate protection to other activists who were listed on this website until it can be proven that Grigorieva’s murder was not linked to it.

We also call on the Commission, the HRVP/EEAS and all EU governments to put this on the agenda in their contacts with their Russian counterparts and to remain committed to fighting LGBTI phobia.

Terry Reintke MEP, Co-President of the LGBTI Intergroup

Sophie in’t Veld MEP, Vice-President of the LGBTI Intergroup

Malin Bjork MEP, Vice-President of the LGBTI Intergroup

Tanja Fajon, Vice-President of the LGBTI Intergroup