ST PETERSBURG UPDATE: No charges under ‘propaganda’ law

BY NATASHA BARSOTTI – Word from queer St Petersburg organization Coming Out is that activists detained for displaying rainbow flags and other rainbow insignia during a May Day civil rights march were not charged with flouting the city’s new anti-gay law, but they faced charges under other laws for not complying with police requests and for participating in an illegal demonstration.

They were eventually released after being held for seven hours.

According to Coming Out, those wearing rainbow-coloured items or carrying signs that denounced homophobia were selectively pulled from the march and taken to police stations.The detention protocol reportedly stated that the various items and signs “did not have prior authorization, thereby constituting a violation of regulations for carrying out public demonstrations.”

That queer rights supporters were the only ones detained is proof that the new gay propaganda law is “working perfectly as it was intended,” said Polina Savchenko, the head of Coming Out. “Police will use the ‘propaganda’ argument to stop any action and detain its participants; the subsequent court hearings and judgments are immaterial,” Savchenko added.

Natasha Barsotti is originally from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. She had high aspirations of representing her country in Olympic Games sprint events, but after a while the firing of the starting gun proved too much for her nerves. So she went off to university instead. Her first professional love has always been journalism. After pursuing a Master of Journalism at UBC , she began freelancing at Xtra West — now Xtra Vancouver — in 2006, becoming a full-time reporter there in 2008.

Keep Reading

The new generation of gay Conservative sellouts

OPINION: Melissa Lantsman’s and Eric Duncan’s refusals to call out their party’s transphobia is a betrayal of the LGBTQ2S+ community

Over 300 anti-LGBTQ2S+ bills have been introduced this year. This doesn’t mean we should panic

OPINION: While it’s important to watch out for threats, not all threats are created equally. Some of these bills will die a natural death

Xtra’s top LGBTQ2S+ stories of the year

The best and brightest—even most bewildering—stories from a back catalogue brimming with insight

Elon Musk and Texas attorney general Ken Paxton are suing Media Matters. Here’s why queer and trans people should care

OPINION: When politicians and the rich leverage the power of the state to quell dissent, we all lose