MOSCOW, January 23, 6:55 /ITAR-TASS/. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says he believes the problem of violation of rights of sexual minorities in Russia is no-existent, since these people do not think that their rights are violated.
“I have seen no application in the internet from the Russian sexual minorities where they would write that their rights are violated,” he said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday. “And you understand that in this country, we have the full freedom of communication. People could express their opinion in the internet as they like about authorities, prime minister, president.”
The prime minister noted that he was an active user of the internet but had never seen any complaints from “the so-called non-traditional sexual minorities communities” about violations of their rights.
As for the situation with the anti-gay propaganda law, he said he did not think this problem was “of concern of the significant part of people.” Moreover, he said he never heard that this law had been applied in practice. “There are many talks, but no application of the law, practical application,” Medvedev noted. “In the difference from many countries where such relations are forbidden, in this country, the relations themselves are not forbidden at all legally. So I believe that this has nothing in common with the real situation in our country.”
“ So I believe that this problem is partially non-existent,” he stressed. “If we see that the rights of this or that category of our population are violated, doesn't matter which category it is, of course we will have amendments to our laws. But so far, there is no problem about those matters that you speak about, no problem at all.