ILGA-Europe is seriously concerned with the ongoing harassment of LGBTI human rights defenders in Russia:

1. on 15 September 2010, Nikolai Alekseev, a prominent human rights activist, was detained by Russian authorities which demanded him to withdraw his complaints against Russian Federation at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding continuous violations of the right to free assembly for LGBTI people in Russia;

2. On the same day, the opening of the Queer Culture Festival in St Petersburg was cancelled and the entire festival is in danger of being banned following a recommendation by the city administration describing the Festival as ‘propaganda of homosexuality’.\

ILGA-Europe has been in touch with the activists in the region who confirmed Nikolai was still in detention as of 12:00 Brussels time. It appears the Russian authorities realise their inevitable humiliating defeat at the European Court of Human Rights and employ such desperate methods as intimidation, threat and abduction to prevent it.

Source: www.ilga-europe.org