A dozen Moscow clubgoers found guilty after anti-LGBTQ 'propaganda' raids
Moscow clubgoers were found guilty of “petty hooliganism” and detained following anti-LGBTQ "propaganda" raids by Russian security forces.
A dozen Moscow clubgoers were found guilty of “petty hooliganism” and detained following anti-LGBTQ "propaganda" raids by Russian security forces, according to Russian court documents and local news reports.
The group was arrested on Saturday night and early Sunday at three nightclubs — Arma, Inferno and Mono — in the Russian capital, according to a statement government officials gave to Tass, a Russian news agency.
“These citizens committed an administrative offense, which was expressed in obvious disrespect for society, accompanied by obscene language in a public place,” a Moscow court wrote in two statements announcing the guilty verdicts.
The raids were executed exactly a year after Russia’s Supreme Court ruled that LGBTQ activists and the LGBTQ “movement” should be designated as extremists. Russians found guilty of extremism can be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison.
Videos and images of the raids shared on social media over the weekend showed stunned clubgoers lying on dance floors with their hands above their heads as police officers sifted through the crowds and shouted orders.
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