All news

Putin's spokesman to consider ECHR ruling on Russian gay propaganda law

The court stressed that Russia’s decision to ban the promotion of homosexuality among minors was a violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov Mikhail Metzel/TASS
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov
© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

MOSCOW, June 20. /TASS/. Moscow will consider the decision made by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which found Russia’s legislation banning the promotion of homosexuality Russia’s legislation banning the promotion of homosexuality to be discriminatory, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

"Of course, this decision will be considered," he said. "I haven’t seen the wording [of the judgement] yet, so I cannot comment on it," the Russian presidential spokesman added. At the same time, Peskov stressed that the law in question was aimed at banning the promotion of homosexuality precisely among underage children.

On June 20, the European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgement in the Bayev and Others v. Russia case, which concerned a complaint against Russia’s legislation banning the promotion of homosexuality among underage children.

The Court stressed that it considered Russia’s decision to ban the promotion of homosexuality among minors to be a violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as a violation of Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) in conjunction with Article 10 of the Convention. The court made this decision by six votes to one.

"The Court found in particular that, although the laws in question aimed primarily at protecting minors, the limits of those laws had not been clearly defined and their application had been arbitrary. Moreover, the very purpose of the laws and the way they were formulated and applied in the applicants’ case had been discriminatory and, overall, served no legitimate public interest. Indeed, by adopting such laws the authorities had reinforced stigma and prejudice and encouraged homophobia, which was incompatible with the values of a democratic society," the ECHR said in a press release.