In what may be the first case of its kind, Russia’s media oversight agency has plans to file a lawsuit against a youth-oriented newspaper after it published a story featuring a gay man. “In September, a youth-oriented newspaper in Khabarovsk interviewed a teacher who had been fired over his sexual orientation. Quotes in the article prompted complaints to Roskomnadzor, the agency that supervises media conformance with law. A regional spokeswoman for the agency, Olga Shakhmatova, was quoted by the Interfax news agency Nov. 13 as saying the article violated a law forbidding distribution to minors of material supporting non-traditional sexual relationships,” reports PrideSource.com
Fines for violating the country’s ‘anti-propaganda’ laws range from up to 100,000 rubles ($3,300) for individuals and one million rubles ($33,000) for organizations along with a possible 90-day suspension of their operating licenses.
Olga Shakhmatova, a regional representative of Roskomnadzor, the agency that supervises media conformance with law, confirmed that the newspaper was non-compliant. “The article violated a law forbidding distribution to minors of material supporting non-traditional sexual relationships.” In it, a male teacher made it clear that his very being was a testament to the law’s ridiculousness. The newspaper, Molodoi Dalnevostochnik, quoted fired teacher Alexander Yermoshkin, as saying “My existence itself is effectively evidence of homosexuality’s normalcy,”
“Such a claim violates the laws of logic. By presenting it to readers who are minors, the author leads them into error about the normalcy of homosexuality. Following the logic of the author, you could recognize the existence of maniacs, serial killers, etc. as normal and even effective,” countered Roskomnadzor official Galina Egoshina.
As of yet, however, Roskomnadzor officials, when asked, could not specifically claim if and when charges had actually been filed. According to PrideSource.com, “Shakhmatova said documents would be sent to court soon, but Roskomnadzor officials said Nov. 15 they did not know if the case had been filed.
Many are blaming Russia’s ‘anti-propaganda’ law on the spike of anti-gay violence and hate speech.
