The Organizing Committee of the St. Petersburg LGBT Pride says they will attempt to hold Pride on 29 June, 2013 even though three previous attempts have resulted in arrests and harassment and the city’s ban on so called ‘homosexual propaganda’.

The committee further stated that Pride would be held in order to attract public attention to the LGBT people in the city, as well as promoting tolerance and equality.

Last year the city’s government agreed to allow Pride but then banned it only two days before the event was scheduled to take place (7 July 2012).

Despite the sudden ban activists tried to hold Pride but were detained by police for organizing an unsanctioned event. Pride has also been banned in 2011 and 2010.

During the trial of the eight detained organizers, Yury Gavrikov and Maria Efremenkova proved their innocence and police malpractice.

Speaking with Gay Star News, Gavrikov said: ‘Pride this year will also commemorate a landmark anniversary; 20 years ago, on 27 May 1993, the Russian Duma repealed the notorious law criminalizing gay sex that was used to detain thousands of people during the Soviet times.

‘20 years later, history takes a turn for the worse – the Duma is in the process of a new national anti-gay law banning the ‘promotion of homosexuality among minors’.

In November 2011, St Petersburg’s legislature adopted at first reading a law banning ‘propaganda’ of ‘homosexualism, bisexualism, transgenderism and pedophilia’.

After delays and debates the legislative assembly of Saint Petersburg approved the law, and the city’s governor signed it taking effect on 30 March 2012.

Gavrikov commented: ‘Lawsuits against St. Petersburg’s ban on LGBT public events and its anti-gay laws have been won in local courts.

‘We have been informed that a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on our case against the banning of Pride march in 2010 will be delivered later this year.

‘We are confident that the verdict will be similar to the case of the ECHR “Alekseev vs. Russia’ which ruled the ban against Moscow Pride as breaching the European Convention of which Russia is a signatory.

‘Taken together these are substantial rulings by several courts that show St. Petersburg Pride has been banned illegally.

‘We, as a social group, believe in the right to hold public events and will insist on it by all possible means, including going ahead with Pride which was illegally banned by the authorities’.

The Russian State Duma has postponed a nationwide ban on ‘gay propaganda’ indefinitely by returning the bill to the preparatory stage.

The legislation was originally due to be debated on 19 December last year but that was put off to today (22 January).

Since then, Russia has come under international pressure to drop the proposals.

Similar laws have already been introduced in the Russian regions of St Petersburg, Ryazan, Arkangelsk Kostroma, Magadansk, Samar, Bashkortostan, Krasnodar and Novosibirsk.

The bill was being pushed at the Duma by the United Russia party of President Vladimir Putin, which has a majority there.

However Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, also of United Russia, indicated he wasn’t aware of his own party’s plans when he said legislation like that wasn’t needed.

Today it was Sergey Mironov of the leftist Fair Russia faction who announced the bill’s delay to reporters after lawmakers apparently decided it needed further thought.

Russia Today reports Mironov was ‘perplexed’ by the delay in the legislation which is supported by 86% of Russians.

He said: ‘We are talking about the ban on propaganda. Do you remember how [the head of the parliamentary committee for family policy] Yelena Mizulina said that she had a feeling that someone was deliberately opposing all bills concerning this subject? Now we postponed it again, and it raises questions.’

The European Union has lead the opposition to the bill outside Russia and the EU’s LGBT Intergroup joined non-governmental organizations and other demonstrators outside the Russian embassy in Brussels to protest it.

Michael Cashman MEP, co-president of the LGBT Intergroup was present at the demonstration.

He said: ‘I’m proud that as many as 20 organizations and 70 people took part in today’s demonstration. It’s a vivid reminder that the fight for others’ human rights is our own fight, and together we can overcome intolerance and the inhumanity done to others.’

Sophie in ‘t Veld MEP, vice-president of the Intergroup, added: ‘I’m relieved today’s debate in the Duma was postponed, and I hope this is a sign that the Russian Federation takes its international obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights seriously.’

‘Russian people, whether they are LGBT, feminists, political activists or anything else, all deserve freedom of speech. Vladimir Putin’s party should stop undermining itself by hitting – literally! – on minorities.’

The law, Bill 6.13.1, which would give fines of up to 500,000 rubles ($16,500 €12,400) for those who ‘promote’ homosexuality to minors. It also covers pedophilia which is likened to homosexuality by the legislation.

Non-governmental organizations in Russia have claimed there as been an increase in anti-LGBT violence in the regions that have introduced similar laws.

The previous postponed debate on 19 December saw pro-gay protesters outside the State Duma pelted with eggs and pushed to the ground.

The Presidium of Moscow City Court, the highest court in the city, rejected the appeal of organizers of Gay Pride in Moscow to reconsider the ban against the event by city’s authorities.

Moscow City Court previously dismissed the appeal against a ruling by Tverskoy District Court of Moscow, on 9 July, to uphold the ban on Moscow Pride.

In this appeal for the court to reconsider its previous decision, Nikolai Alekseev, chair and founder of Moscow Pride, demanded a cancellation of the ban according to the 2010 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

ECHR ruled that by banning Moscow Pride in 2006, 2007 and 2008 Russia breached three articles of the European Convention of Human Rights, to which it is signatory, including the right to freedom of assembly, the right to effective legal remedy and the ban on discrimination.

The ordered Russia to lift the ban and pay compensation to Alekseev, an appeal by Russia in 2011 to overturn this decision was rejected.

Nevertheless, city authorities defied the ECHR ruling and banned Moscow Pride in 2011.

Yesterday (25 December) the Presidium of Moscow City Court refused to consider this appeal thereby confirming the legitimacy of the ban which has been applied seven times in a row since 2006, in defiance of ECHR ruling.

This decision also defies a strong recent criticism by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers (CECM) over the continued failure of Russia to implement the ECHR’s ruling, demanding a plan of action be submitted to the body to address the issue by the end of 2012.

Alekseev told Gay Star News that Moscow’s authorities banned the May event on various grounds, most recently stating that holding the event in the city centre could ‘upset’ families and children, and that some participants could behave ‘provocatively’.

This despite that the organizers of Moscow Pride expressed their willingness to carry out the event in any area within the administrative boundaries of Moscow, and ensure no profanity or nudity during the march, but this was not taken into consideration by the Moscow city court nor the authorities.

Speaking with GSN Alekseev said: ‘We are not really surprised by decision; we never won a case in the Moscow City Court. Such decisions are arbitrary and political and against international conventions and obligations of which Russia is a signatory.

‘This means we will apply to the ECHR over Russia’s violation of its ruling, in addition we are considering also appealing to Russian Supreme Court.

‘This joins three more pending cases in ECHR against the Russian ban of Moscow Pride in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

‘Moscow City court is just ignoring these decisions, and that would make it very difficult for Russia to justify its actions to CECM by the end of this year’.

The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers is expected to meet and discuss Russia’s report on its application of ECHR ruling in March 2013.

Moscow’s regional parliament has rejected an anti-gay ‘propaganda’ bill similar to homophobic laws passed elsewhere in Russia.

The proposed law, which would ban ‘non-traditional sexual orientation propaganda to minors’, was filed with the Duma on 16 November by the local Council of Municipal Entities.

A Duma spokesman told the RIA Novosti news agency today (22 November) that the legislation ‘will not be accepted’ because it is in conflict with the country’s federal law.

St Petersburg’s city assembly adopted a ‘gay gag’ law in February following the introduction of similar bans in the Russian administrative regions of Ryazan and Arkhangelsk in 2006 and 2011.

The St Petersburg law punishes ‘homosexual propaganda’ in public alongside pedophile propaganda with fines of up to $15,600, and is designed to protect children from positive messages about LGBT people.

Last month Madonna faced prosecution under the law for speaking out for gay rights during her concert in the city.

Moscow City Court has upheld the ruling against holding a gay parade in the Russian city despite it breaking European law.

The Tverskoy District Court dismissed an appeal on 9 July submitted by the parade’s organizer Nikolai Alekseev, and said they will continue to ban gay pride from March 2012 to May 2112.

In defiance, Alekseev claimed to have found a loophole in Russian legislation and submitted requests for gay pride parades for the next 100 years to the Moscow Mayor’s office.

Speaking to Gay Star News, he said: ‘Russia is simply isolating itself from the modern world, while advocating its perspective of traditional values.’

The refusal stated the gay parade would substantially complicate the work of businesses, limit the freedom of travel of citizens, and violate their rights and legal interests.

Alekseev and the other parade organizers say the Moscow government has violated not only Russian law, but also the European Court of Human Rights.

In the Alekseev v Russia case, the ECHR ruled bans on gay parades in the Russian capital are illegal.

Alekseev said: ‘’It is all shows that Russia has no intention of respecting international conventions and obligations that deal with LGBT rights.

‘I think Russia is becoming more aggressive because there is increasing pressures from all sides, from the European Union, the United Nations, international diplomacy and so of for more protection of LGBT rights.’

UK-based gay rights group Stonewall has condemned the ban.

‘It’s a matter of grave concern that Moscow’s municipal government has again marginalized the city’s gay community,’ said Stonewall international officer Jasmine O’Connor.

‘It’s another sign of the dire situation for Russia’s 8.5 million lesbian, gay and bisexual people, whose human rights are routinely abused by the government and police.

‘We’ll continue to press the British government to do all it can to confront homophobic human rights abuses worldwide.’

The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers once again sharply criticized the Russian authorities for failing to implement the recommendations of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the case, ‘Alekseyev v. Russia’.

On 21 October 2010 Nikolay Alexeyev, a Russian LGBT rights advocate, won a case before the European Court concerning prohibition of 2006, 2007 and 2008 Moscow Pride marches and picketings.

In the ‘Alekseyev v. Russia’, the court ruled that Russia breached three articles of the European Convention of Human Rights, to which it is signatory, including the right to freedom of assembly, the right to effective legal remedy and the ban on discrimination. The court ordered Russia to pay to Alekseyev nearly 30,000 euros in compensation.

The case marked the first ever international defeat of the Russian government on the issue of gay rights.

The Russian government has paid compensation, but continued to ban many public events of the LGBT community and thus not abiding the judgement of the ECHR.