The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia proposed to introduce criminal liability for "propaganda of pedophilia and homosexuality" among minors. According to the TASS news agency, on October 19, at a meeting of the State Duma, Sergei Alabin, head of the department for combating pedophilia of the department for combating crimes against the person of the GUUR, said: "A question was raised about the promotion of pedophilia, homosexuality, non-traditional relationships etc. Personally, I think that administrative responsibility is ineffective. If this is elevated to the rank of criminal responsibility, then we will save our generation, which should not grow up focused on pedophilia and non-traditional relationships."
And although Russian medicine officially adopts the international classifier of diseases (ICD-10), in which homosexuality is not a disease, this does not prevent representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs from considering homosexuality a deviation - on a par with pedophilia.
Law against gay propaganda
The criminal article for sodomy was abolished in Russia in 1993. And in 2013, the State Duma passed a law establishing administrative liability for gay propaganda among children in the form of a fine. It can range from 50 thousand to 1 million rubles.
Recent cases include the case of Evdokia Romanova, a Samara activist. Two years ago, the girl reposted links from The Guardian and BuzzFeed publications on LGBT topics to Facebook and Vkontakte social networks. On July 26, 2017, she received a call from a district police officer who summoned her to the police department to testify in the case of a man whom the girl had never heard of in her life. Despite the suspicious reason for the call, the girl came to the department, where she was charged with "gay propaganda". The girl admitted to DW that the employees law enforcement even threatened her husband, an Austrian citizen, with deportation from Russia. Romanova involved the media and the human rights organization Amnesty International in the case, but the fine for "gay propaganda" could not be avoided. On October 19, a Samara court fined Romanova 50,000 rubles for reposting articles.
What is "homosexual propaganda"
Damir Gainutdinov, a lawyer for the Agora human rights organization, believes that there are no criteria for evaluating propaganda in Russian law, so government agencies have to "get out." It follows from the wording of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation that "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations"is the dissemination of information that can harm health, moral development and form distorted ideas about the social equivalence of traditional and non-traditional marital relations among minors.
“Roughly speaking, one cannot talk about the normality of LGBT people, at least in the presence of minors,” Gainutdinov interprets the law.
In support of this bill, Roskomnadzor conducted its own research, which it published under the title "The concept of information security for children." It gives an example of how published statistics on adoption by homosexual and heterosexual couples "give children and adolescents the idea that a homosexual couple can cope with parental responsibilities as well as a heterosexual couple." According to Roskomnadzor, such information can affect the self-identity of a teenager and is equated with propaganda.
Tanya Lokshina, program director of the Moscow Bureau of Human Rights Watch, believes that there are many legislative acts in Russia with "vague" wording. But there is no vagueness in the law "on gay propaganda". "Almost any public positive coverage of LGBT people, relationships can be regarded as propaganda. Theoretically, this law can be applied to many people. But it is applied selectively," said DW Lokshina.
Violation of the rights of citizens of the Russian Federation
In June 2017, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) recognized Russian law 2013 is discriminatory, and also pointed out that it violates articles of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights, namely article 10 (“Freedom of speech”) and article 4 (“Prohibition of discrimination”).
The prerequisite for such a decision was the appeal to the ECHR of three Russians - activists of the LGBT movement: Nikolai Baev, Alexei Kiselev and Nikolai Alekseev. All three were held accountable for promoting "non-traditional" relations in Russia. The ECtHR decided to pay them compensation in the amount of 50,000 euros. The Ministry of Justice of Russia expressed its disagreement with the decision of the ECtHR and promised to appeal it. In case of non-execution of the decision of the ECtHR, Russia faces fines and a damaged reputation.
Lokshina believes that in this case, the Russian Federation has only one way out - to abandon the law on "propaganda of non-traditional relations." However, the activist does not exclude that Russia will only pay compensation to the victims, and leave the law.
The goal is self-censorship
There are not many precedents for the application of the law. Damir Gainutdinov told DW that 14 people have been prosecuted in the Russian Federation since the article was published. The lawyer explained that there is discrimination against LGBT people in Russia, but the authorities are not yet ready to take responsibility for this.
Context
"Law enforcement officers are more focused on extremism, and mass legalized persecution of LGBT people is hardly necessary in terms of image," Gainutdinov believes. According to human rights activist Tanya Lokshina, the relatively small number of precedents is due to selective law enforcement in Russia. Its purpose is to create the effect of "self-censorship". People understand that if it happened to someone, it can happen to them.
Lokshina said that while such laws are being discussed and adopted, the number of attacks on LGBT activists in Russia is growing. Anyone who dares to support the ideology or LGBT events can simply be beaten. “When a state passes a law that actually states that people who are members of the LGBT community are second-class people and are harmful to society, this encourages the growth of homophobic sentiments. On the other hand, this gives a sense of impunity to aggressive and radical homophobes. Therefore, being LGBT- being an activist today is not safe," says Lokshina.
See also:
Watch video 03:42
Love is illegal: how to fight homophobia in Russia? (10/14/2017)
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Judges of the European Court of Human Rights (Photo: Vincent Kessler/Reuters)
Having considered the complaint of LGBT activists Nikolai Baev, Aleksey Kiselev and Nikolai Alekseev, the European Court of Human Rights decided that the Russian law banning propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors violates the right to freedom of expression and contains discrimination. All three who applied to the ECtHR from 2009 to 2012 were prosecuted in Russia for promoting non-traditional relationships.
The court recognized that the Russian law violates Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. It states that "everyone has the right to freely express his opinion, this right includes freedom to hold opinions and freedom to receive and impart information and ideas without any interference from public authorities and regardless of frontiers."
The decision also states that in connection with the violation of Article 10 there is also a violation of Article 14 of the Convention. The article is called "On the Prohibition of Discrimination." “The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms recognized in this Convention shall be ensured without discrimination of any kind on grounds of sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, membership in a national minority, property position, birth, or any other indications,” it says.
Only the judge from Russia in the ECHR Dmitry Dedov voted against this decision, who made a separate, dissenting opinion. In it, he defended the position that the court "seriously failed to take into account the fact that the privacy of children is more important than freedom of expression."
Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that the decision of the ECtHR will be considered after the Kremlin familiarizes itself with the full wording of the verdict, Interfax reports.
Ilya Shablinsky, a member of the Human Rights Council (HRC), told RBC that the decision of the ECHR creates the prerequisites for further filing claims against Russia, but will not be able to influence changes in Russian legislation. “This decision of the ECHR requires the reaction of the Russian courts - to correct their position [in relation to cases of propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations], to take into account the opinion of the European Court. But this decision, alas, does not oblige the Russian legislator to change the Code of Administrative Offenses, which is a pity,” he said. According to Shablinsky, Article 6.21. The Code of Administrative Offenses (“Propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors”) “does not solve anything, but only gives grounds for bringing to administrative responsibility.” “The adoption of this norm was of a political nature in order to show a certain course towards the protection of traditional values. The decision to cancel it should also be political,” added the HRC member.
Dmitry Matveev, managing partner of the law firm "Dmitry Matveev and Partners", explained to RBC that Russian citizens who will be involved in the future under Article 6.21. Code of Administrative Offenses, may refer to the decision of the ECtHR. “It is impossible to say that now Russian judges must make other decisions. But the fact that they should take this position of the ECtHR into account is certain. And decisions will be made based on specific circumstances,” he explained. If a decision in a Russian court "is made against them, then they can apply to the ECHR in the same way," the lawyer added.
In September 2014, the Russian Constitutional Court "Propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors." The Court concluded that the article contained no discriminatory provisions. The decision stated that the ban on gay propaganda among minors is aimed at “protecting such constitutionally significant values as family and childhood,” as well as protecting the health and spiritual and moral development of children.
At the same time, the Constitutional Court noted that the law considers only public actions illegal, the purpose of which is to disseminate information that imposes and popularizes non-traditional sexual relations among minors, the established ban does not allow for a broader understanding.
The applicants in the case of discrimination of the article about LGBT propaganda were the founder of the Moscow Gay Pride movement Nikolai Alekseev, as well as gay activists Yaroslav Yevtushenko and Dmitry Isakov. They demanded that Article 6.21 of the RF Code of Administrative Offenses (propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations) be recognized as contrary to a number of provisions of the Russian Constitution, in particular, guaranteeing the right to freedom of thought and speech, as well as the right not to be discriminated against.
The Homosexual Propaganda Act was passed in 2013. Propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations is defined by the law as dissemination of information aimed at developing non-traditional sexual attitudes in children, the attractiveness of such relationships, a distorted idea of the social equivalence of traditional and non-traditional relationships, as well as the imposition of information that arouses interest in such relationships.
“On Amendments to Article 5 of the Federal Law “On the Protection of Children from Information Harmful to Their Health and Development” and Certain Legislative Acts Russian Federation in order to protect children from information that promotes the denial of traditional family values.”
In the press and discussions on information resources the named law is called more briefly and, in my opinion, incorrectly: "the law on the prohibition of propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among children." If we are to arbitrarily abbreviate the name of the legal document, then it would be more correct: "the law on the protection of children from the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations."
This short text law is a very striking legal document in terms of the existing legislative norms to which it relates, both in the domestic legislation of Russia and in international law and in particular in the convention law of the Council of Europe.
Moreover, in the adopted law, its focus on a merciful attitude towards the participants in legal relations is noticeable, because of which (but not for the sake of whom) this law was adopted, - (a term introduced into the legal lexicon by the Council of Europe).
In other words, for persons (people) of non-traditional sexual orientation, this law is a real gift from the Russian state, and people who have not reached the age of majority (children), the law protects from complex and not always clear information regarding their physiological and mental development.
In addition, ordinary people, who are not fanatically obsessed with the problems of their own sexual orientation, or rather, with the problems of their own sexual perversion, from the moment Law No. sexual orientation, since this function was legally assumed by the state, actually freeing fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, etc. from uttering “hate speeches” and possible “hate crimes” (subparagraphs A, B of Chapter 1 of the Appendix to the Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe CM/RES (2010)5).
So, what is the inner strength and what are the favorable consequences of Federal Law No. 135-FZ?
Federal Law No. 135-FZ (hereinafter referred to as the "Law") was adopted unanimously by the State Duma of the Russian Federation on June 11, 2013, approved unanimously by the Federation Council of the Russian Federation on June 26, 2013 and signed without delay (three days later) by the President of the Russian Federation on June 29, 2013.
Note that between 26 and 29 June 2013, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted Resolution No. Doc. 13223 of June 27, 2013 (only those who were present voted - a minority of all PACE members), which, in particular, states that prejudices against LGBT people are widespread in society; the Resolution calls for the Russian Federation to promote equality among people. The document also says that the ban on LGBT propaganda by the Russian Federation would be contrary to Russia's legal obligations, only it is not clear to whom, but probably to the European Union. This PACE resolution does not say anything about children, about the rights of children, about propaganda among children of perverted sexual relations that take place between some adults.
Considering the adopted Law both in temporal chronology and in textual richness, it would be appropriate and even necessary to draw parallels with PACE Resolution 13223.
But before starting to consider the significance of the Law, the following obvious facts related to the adoption of the Law should be recorded:
– consideration and adoption of the Law took place with maximum efficiency, due to the urgent need for its adoption;
- The law was adopted with the full unanimity of all the power and political forces of the country, and this fact clearly indicates the democratic nature of the adopted document;
– the unanimous adoption of the Law allows us to say that there are practically no prejudices against LGBT people in Russian society, one can even say that they do not exist at all. Russian society, represented by its legitimate state bodies, by the adopted Law, confirmed and fixed in law that people who, among other things, are addicted to perverted sexual relations with each other, regardless of their own gender, live in the territory under Russian law. These people, who are called LGBT persons in the EU legal terminology, are to such an extent devotees in the field of sexual perversion that they want all other Russian citizens to know about their “unique-amazing” lifestyle and join them at the first opportunity. What prejudices can there be? Murder will out.
The adopted law, firstly, de jure confirmed the presence of LGBT people in Russian society and recognized their existence as a certain group; secondly, the Law did not prohibit LGBT people from engaging in activities among their own kind; thirdly, it did not prohibit LGBT people from promoting their perverted lifestyle among the adult population of the country. European LGBT leaders should be happy with such a democratic law.
The text of the Law fully complies with the provisions of PACE Resolution 13223 of June 27, 2013, namely: The Law indicates the absence of prejudice towards LGBT persons in Russia and, on the contrary, confirms the presence of LGBT persons in Russia without any infringement of their private and public rights on grounds of sexual perversion; The law affirms the equality of LGBT persons with other citizens of the Russian Federation in everything, including responsibility for promoting non-traditional sexual relations among minors under Art. 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. A father and mother with many children and two sodomites are equally responsible for promoting non-traditional sexual relations among minors. This is the equality of all people, which PACE Resolution 13223 calls for. The Law also shows that LGBT propaganda among the adult population in the Russian Federation is not prohibited, LGBT persons have the full right to promote non-traditional sexual relations among adult citizens of Russia. They can start propaganda immediately, starting from the territories of the North Caucasian federal district and smoothly moving towards the Far Eastern Federal District. And in order to taste the results of such propaganda among adult citizens of Russia to a greater extent, they should start, for example, with fathers large families, with veterans of the Great Patriotic War, from paratroopers or marines.
Moreover, neither in the PACE Resolution nor in the Recommendations of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe CM/RES (2010)5) no requirements are made to the Russian Federation distribute information aimed at the formation of non-traditional sexual attitudes among minors, the attractiveness of non-traditional sexual relations, a distorted idea of the social equivalence of traditional and non-traditional sexual relations.
Thus, the Law fully complies with the obligations of the Russian Federation to the European Union, and was also adopted taking into account all the concerns of PACE, set out in Resolution No. Doc. 13223 dated June 27, 2013.
Having briefly reviewed the conformity of the adopted Law with the legal documents of the Council of Europe, which are the most challenging for the current Russian legislation in terms of excessive emphasis in these documents on, a few words should be said about the main focus and internal strength of the June Law.
The subject composition, which covers the adopted Law, is as follows: firstly, minor citizens of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as “children”); secondly, people (irrespective of the citizenship of the Russian Federation) who want to promote non-traditional sexual relations among underage citizens of the Russian Federation; thirdly, people (regardless of the citizenship of the Russian Federation) who do not have the desire and purpose to promote non-traditional sexual relations among underage citizens of the Russian Federation, and, finally, the Russian state represented by its competent authorities and administration.
Children - who are they? People who are least experienced in the affairs of adults of any orientation and most unprotected from the influence of the affairs of the adult part of humanity.
Any child above and more any adult - for the reason that he stands above the temptations and temptations that the world offers to an adult independent and free person and in which this adult person digs and chooses something for himself or rejects. Within the framework of human life activity, children see only what adults offer and/or impose on them, and not only close relatives, but also people from TV, from a monitor, a screen in a cinema, etc.
A minor, against his will, does not understand many things that are obvious to an adult, sometimes in quotation marks. Misunderstanding is the natural state of the child, from which he naturally come out as an adult.
A person in imperfect years in the words that come from adults hears with complete faith only what an adult puts into this word. An LGBT person or stage seducer can pour so much beauty and attractiveness into the capacious word “Love” that the child will not notice the poison with which this word will be filled for the most part.
Temptation is not terrible for an adult, if he is reasonable, but the temptation is deadly for a child, because he takes everything on faith, not having the full ability to reason and evaluate, and this state of his is innate.
Who believes that there is nothing higher than Love in the world, having replaced the name of Love with sexual depravity, but without speaking about it directly, is it not an act of apex hatred and malice towards this seduced child?
Try in the legal terms of the Council of Europe to answer the question of whether the parents and relatives of the seduced child have natural (not established by legal law) rights to use “hate speeches” and / or “hate crimes” against the seducer (seducers) of their child. I am sure that any father or mother who loves their child is ready in their thoughts to put a stone around the neck of an LGBT propagandist and send them together (both the stone and the face) into the depths of the sea. A terrible prospect for everyone. The child is seduced, the father and mother are in a state of hatred for another person, the propagandist-seducer is "drowned". Who is celebrating???
The adopted law 135-FZ resolved this difficult situation, and not in the harsh form of the Law of Human Conscience, for which a millstone around the neck is the best fate for a seducer-libertine, but in a mild form of monetary fines or short gatherings in a cell along with other people, among which, by the way, the Law did not prohibit LGBT propaganda.
The state has assumed the burden of communicating with LGBT people who wish to promote their way of life among minors. Since the adoption of the law, it is now enough for a father and mother to call the competent state body and notify the employee about the fact of propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations by certain persons in one place or another. Moreover, - and this is the most important thing - now the father and mother of a minor do not need to torture themselves with hatred for the poor LGBT propagandist, and they can direct the released energy to search for and show the whole world people who lead the development of the temptations of sexual perversion among healthy people(adults and children). Non-traditional sexual relations are the gradual death of mankind, woe to the world. The people who are leading the development of unproductive sexual relations in the world - they are leading, using power, money and other means - you need to know personally. Through whom the temptation of sexual perversions comes into the world and into the souls of people, it is necessary to find, describe, demonstrate publicly, but not judge by one's own judgment.
The law speaks of minors as a single whole community. Any minor in Russia should not be exposed to the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations. There are no exceptions.
How is it with adults under the established legal provisions?
The law divides them into two (hopefully unequal) parts: propagandists of non-traditional sexual relations (hereinafter - NSO) among minors and non-propaganda. Both LGBT people and non-LGBT people can voluntarily or unwittingly act as NSO propagandists and non-propagandists.
People living a normal, natural life, the law freed from the use of sexual perversions suppressing propaganda based on hostile attitudes towards LGBT people. At the forefront is now not hostility or hatred, but the violation of the law. In this fact, the most important significance of the Law. In mortal combat, a saber is always better than a fist.
This suppression will now be dealt with by the state at the suggestion of any interested persons. It should be noted that the state, by adopting Law No. 135-FZ, did not legally prevent LGBT people from engaging in non-compliance with each other, but in our opinion - debauchery.
Therefore, the condemnation of LGBT people only because they live a perverted sex life in a circle of their own kind, from the standpoint of the current Russian legislation, is unacceptable. Their actions in their own circle of like-minded people are not subject to the legal norms of the state.
In connection with the adoption of the law normal - not sexually perverted - people should not fall into condemnation of the way of life of sodomites, but everything must be done to prevent them from taking out their rubbish from their huts. To do this, it is necessary to constantly and promptly notify the state authorities of all known facts manifestations of propaganda that denies traditional family values.
It is imperative that there be judicial practice in this category of cases, as it will contribute to the development and improvement of legislation in this area of human relations. If the judicial practice is extensive, then the problem is great and more serious laws need to be passed and the healthy part of the population should be mobilized to counter the expansion of the influence of LGBT people. If the judicial practice is insignificant, then this fact will objectively testify to the insignificant number of LGBT people in Russia and thus will contribute to more productive legal communication on this issue with the European Union in terms of the senselessness and uselessness of discussing the problems of LGBT people in Russia. high level interstate communication.
In conclusion, I would like to sum up the main results of the legal progress that has taken place in Russian legislation.
Firstly, the Law does not contradict the legal interpretations and wishes of the documents of the Council of Europe. The law does not give rise to those who are looking for a reason to accuse the Russian Federation of non-compliance with the legal guidelines of the European Union on formal grounds. And if you sort things out in the legal field, then now it is better to do it within the framework of the legal terminology used in the legal acts of the European Union, gradually creating your own terminology. Adopted Law initiated this process. The Council of Europe is still cautious in terms of legal terms and qualifications, but that's for now.
Secondly, the Law initiated the development legislative framework, which protects minors from propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations in Russia.
Obviously, this is only the first timid step towards countering the threat posed by LGBT people to all people. The step is timid, cautious, but very correctly set in legal terms. It is urgent to work out our internal legal position in this area of relations. It is a legal position based on the interests and preferences of Russian society.
Thirdly, the Law protects LGBT people living or staying in Russia from excessive hostility towards them from the democratic majority of Russians, provided that they do not share their miserable and ugly experience of sexual perversion with underage citizens of Russia.
The law has been passed. Will it protect children from the temptations of perverted forms of sexual debauchery? Of course not. The law is only an assistant in resisting seducers, and adult healthy people can resist them within the framework of the current legislation of Russia.
“Woe to the world from temptations, for temptations must come; but woe to that person through whom the temptation comes, ”these words, spoken almost 2000 years ago from, were addressed to both seducers and those who oppose seducers.
I am on the side of those who will resist the seducers, using all methods not prohibited by Russian law.
I dare to suggest that the modern humane or even inhumane legislation of any country in the world will not award the depraved seducers of children with execution by drowning with a millstone around their necks, and therefore the “confidants of debauchery” can only thank the Russian state for such a kind attitude towards their persons, expressed in the adoption of Law No. 135-FZ, and slowly begin preparations for the Court. And he's waiting...
The bill on the prohibition of propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors was adopted in the final reading. The fine for violating the law will be 4-5 thousand rubles for a private person and up to 1 million for a legal entity.
Moscow. June 11. website - The State Duma adopted in the second and immediately in the third, final reading a law on fines for promoting non-traditional sexual relations among minors.
The law amends the Federal Law "On the protection of children from information harmful to their health and development" and certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation in order to protect children from information that promotes the denial of traditional family values.
The law provides for administrative fines for propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors, "expressed in the dissemination of information aimed at the formation of non-traditional sexual attitudes among minors, the attractiveness of non-traditional sexual relations, a distorted idea of the social equivalence of traditional and non-traditional sexual relations, or the imposition of information about non-traditional sexual relations arousing interest in such relationships.
If these actions do not contain a criminally punishable act, the law establishes penalties for them in the form of an administrative fine for citizens in the amount of 4 thousand to 5 thousand rubles, for officials from 40 thousand to 50 thousand rubles, for legal persons from 800 thousand to 1 million rubles, or an administrative suspension of activities for up to 90 days.
If these actions are committed using the media or information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet, citizens face a fine in the amount of 50 thousand to 100 thousand rubles, officials from 100 thousand to 200 thousand rubles, legal entities in the form of 1 million rubles, or an administrative suspension of activities for up to 90 days.
If the same actions are committed by a foreign citizen or a stateless person, the law establishes a penalty in the form of a fine in the amount of 4,000 to 5,000 rubles with administrative expulsion from the Russian Federation, or administrative arrest for up to 15 days, also with administrative expulsion from Russia.
If a foreign citizen has committed these actions using the media or the Internet, he faces a fine in the amount of 50 thousand to 100 thousand rubles with administrative expulsion from Russia, or administrative arrest for up to 15 days with administrative expulsion from the Russian Federation.
It is expected that this law will come into force from the day of its official publication.
Earlier on Tuesday, Russia's Human Rights Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin noted that the bill had undergone some positive changes, but claims against it remained. "People who are preparing and trying to push through such laws may or may not be aware of the fact that creating a halo of sacrifice is one of the most effective forms of advertising," the ombudsman said. “What and when it is possible, what cannot be communicated to children sexually is a complex and important problem. To be honest, everything is still not clear to me here. This problem should be solved without direct connection with specific types of sexual preferences. It should be solved in general in the context of the child's entry into this delicate and intimate issue. I do not approve of separate laws on persons who are included in the abbreviation LGBT, "Lukin said.
He added that he feared the "foolish" application of the law banning the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations. " the main problem will be in law enforcement. Tough and stupid law enforcement can lead to human casualties and human tragedies," Lukin told Interfax on Tuesday.
On the eve of the adoption of the bill, human rights activists from the international organization Human Rights Watch turned to the Russian authorities with a call to abandon it. “Russia is diligently trying to give discrimination a dignified appearance, covering it up with the word ‘tradition’. However, no matter what terminology is used in this document, it is discriminatory and violates the basic rights of representatives of the LGBT movement,” the widespread organizing a statement by Graham Reed, who oversees the Human Rights Watch program to protect the rights of representatives of the LGBT movement. "Trying to single out representatives of the LGBT movement as 'non-traditional people' is an attempt to belittle their human dignity. This is cynical and dangerous," Reed said.
The Russians themselves, on the contrary, for the most part, support the ban on propaganda of homosexuality. According to a survey of sociologists by VTsIOM, for last years the attitude towards homosexuality in Russian society has become more intolerant, and the proportion of opponents of same-sex marriage has increased significantly. According to their data, at present the vast majority of Russians support the introduction of a ban on the promotion of homosexuality in the country (88%, in 2012 - 86%). Opponents of this initiative - 7%.
The relative majority of Russians today believe that non-traditional sexual orientation should be criminalized (42%), back in 2007 there were only 19% of such people. A quarter of the respondents (25%) are sure that homosexuality should be the subject of public censure (in 2007 - 18%). There are also a few more those who propose punishment in the form of a fine (from 12% to 15%), and, on the contrary, there are fewer of those who believe that the state and society should not interfere, because. this is a private matter for each person (from 34% in 2007 to 15% this year).
The survey was conducted on June 8-9 in 134 settlements in 42 regions, territories and republics of Russia with the participation of 1,600 people.
Meanwhile, protesters are gathering at the walls of the Duma, where a vote is currently being held for a law banning gay propaganda among children, as well as against a law on protecting the religious feelings of believers. In addition, according to the Ekho Moskvy radio station, LGBT activists also came to the Duma and tried to hold their "Kissing Day" action against homophobia.
At the moment, about 20 people have already been detained in an attempt to carry out an unauthorized action.
As Interfax was told in the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Moscow, the detainees are being taken to the police department to resolve the issue of bringing to administrative responsibility.
Sergey Alabin, head of the Department for Combating Pedophilia of the Directorate for Organizing the Fight against Crimes against the Person of the Main Directorate of Criminal Investigation of Russia, proposed introducing criminal liability for propaganda of homosexuality among minors. He stated this during a speech in the State Duma.
According to a police spokesman, administrative punishment for this act does not look like a sufficient measure, since it only provides for fines: “If we establish criminal punishment, then we will save our generation, which should not grow up focused on pedophilia and non-traditional relationships.”
If the initiative is implemented, it will further tighten the current legislation. In 2013, she passed a law that established administrative responsibility for "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors." At the same time, information promoting homosexuality was classified as prohibited for distribution among children. For violation of the provisions specified in Article 6.21 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, a fine of 4 to 5 thousand rubles for individuals and from 40 to 50 thousand rubles for legal entities is due. As for officials, in the event of such a misconduct they will have to pay from 800 thousand to a million rubles. If propaganda is carried out through the media, then this increases the fine for individuals from 50 thousand to 100 thousand rubles, for legal entities - from 100 to 200 thousand rubles, and for officials - up to a million rubles, or threatens to suspend activities for up to 90 days.
The new initiative has received mixed reactions. Thus, the lawyer believes that the introduction of criminal liability for propaganda of anything leads to serious abuses by law enforcement officers. “The concept of “propaganda” in the legislation is very difficult to define. In general, everything
This is another attempt to introduce criminal liability for word crime.
Here we will run into the question of delimitation of responsibility for any actions and the question of responsibility for expressing one's opinion. I believe that in a normal, civilized society it is impossible to impose liability for expressing an opinion on any issue, if this did not in itself entail any serious consequences, ”said the lawyer.
Panchenko noted that in Russian realities the term "propaganda" is not defined, and the introduction of liability for propaganda of something will lead to selective repressions. This issue has been discussed in all developed countries, everywhere it is solved the same way: there can be no liability for so-called propaganda if it did not cause damage to someone's legally protected interests. It is not possible to distinguish between propaganda and simply a person’s expression of his opinion on some issue, ”the lawyer believes. Panchenko said that at one time the US Supreme Court made a decision: you can’t shout “Fire” in a crowded theater. Such an expression of opinion can create a crush and lead to casualties. But if you shout the same thing, that is, formally express your opinion in an empty theater or, say, in an open field, then in the absence of potential negative consequences, this is considered quite acceptable.
Panchenko's colleague Alexander believes that the introduction of criminal liability for propaganda of homosexuality among minors is quite acceptable. “As an Orthodox person, I consider homosexuality a psychological deviation, but each person can do anything, but at the same time he should not violate either the law or the freedom of another person. If there is propaganda of mental deviation among minors (and these are people with a fragile psyche), then I believe that this is an encroachment on their freedom. For this, criminal punishment should be introduced, ”the lawyer said. He agreed that it would be difficult to determine what exactly was propaganda and what was not. “This is a systemic involvement of a person in a circle of interests alien to him before. These are different methods and techniques, on the verge of psychology and sociology, but it can be summed up under the system, ”concluded Karabanov.
Vadim Bagaturia, a former investigator of the Russian Investigative Committee and now a lawyer, considers Alabin's statement a PR stunt. “The criteria for “propaganda” of non-traditional sexual relations are already spelled out in the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and formed by judicial practice, so the transfer of the norm from the code to the code will not cause legal problems. As for the initiative of the employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it cannot be called anything other than an attempt to get on the outgoing train of the noisy “anti-gay and anti-pedophile” campaign launched by the chairman, ”he said. However, the lawyer noted that
the implementation of the initiative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs can lead to serious abuse of power by investigators and judges, as happened with “anti-extremist” articles, according to which a person ends up in a colony for reposting this particular article or picture.
“It is quite possible that the inefficient judicial system of Russia will take the path of least resistance and will not justify the defendants even if such actions are obviously insignificant,” Bagaturia said.
For a very long time throughout the history of mankind in European countries, very severe punishments were provided for homosexuality, up to the death penalty. Andorra was the first country to decriminalize same-sex sex in 1790. The second state is France of the era of the French Revolution. In the US during colonial times same-sex acts were punished death penalty. In 1779, the then-Virginia state legislator introduced a bill that would require castration for sodomy, and piercing of the nasal septum with a hole diameter of at least half an inch for lesbianism. This was considered the maximum possible manifestation of liberalism. Illinois became the first US state to legalize same-sex relationships in 1961. And only in 2003 the US Supreme Court found all regulations which prohibit non-traditional sexual relations.
Unlike many other countries, in the history of Russia, criminal prosecution for same-sex acts for a long time didn't exist at all. The first punitive measures were introduced only by Peter I in 1706 and applied only to military personnel. Then, in 1832, Nicholas I introduced criminal prosecution for sodomy into Russian legislation. After the October Revolution, prosecution for sodomy in the RSFSR was abolished, but returned to the Criminal Code in 1934 and remained in it until 1993. Now criminal prosecution for homosexual relations is still preserved in 76 countries of the world, and in Iran, Yemen, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, as well as in some regions of Niger and Somalia, homosexual intercourse is punishable by death.
Pedophiles - life imprisonment
In addition to tougher penalties for propaganda of homosexuality, on the eve of parliamentarians also proposed to make more stringent responsibility for pedophilia. The vice-speaker of the State Duma proposed introducing a sentence of life imprisonment for her. To convince her colleagues, the parliamentarian called on statistics to help. According to her, in the first half of 2017, 7,000 criminal cases were opened in Russia “on the fact of sexual assault against minors.” This is 1,000 more than in the same period last year. The victims of such crimes, according to the Vice Speaker, were 5,000 children. She noted that
a significant part of these crimes was committed by non-recidivists: “These are new criminals, these are people who were not in the field of view of law enforcement officers, who had not previously committed other crimes in the vast majority of cases.”
Now, according to Russian criminal law (Articles 131 and 132 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), the main punishment for rape of a minor or violent acts of a sexual nature against a minor (minor) can be, depending on the age of the victim (victim) and other circumstances, from 8 up to 20 years in prison and life imprisonment. Restriction of liberty and deprivation of the right to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to 20 years are also allowed as additional punishments.
It should be noted that they are trying to tighten the “anti-pedophile” legislation different countries peace. For example, in 2008, in a referendum, the citizens of Switzerland voted to abolish the statute of limitations for crimes related to paedophilia. And in the United States, a multi-level system for combating pedophilia and child pornography has been created. The specific terms of punishment there vary depending on the state, the nature of the crime, the age of the victim and other circumstances, usually from tens of years to several life sentences. In addition, in some states, a person who has served a sentence for pedophilia must report this fact to his neighbors. If he does not do this, he may be additionally punished by the inspection supervising his behavior.
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