Russia’s parliament has passed the third and final reading of a law banning “LGBT propaganda” among all adults, as Moscow ramps up its conservative push at home amid the war in Ukraine that passed the nine-month mark on Thursday.
The bill criminalises any act regarded as an attempt to promote what Russia calls “non-traditional sexual relations” – in film, online, advertising or in public – and expands on a notorious 2013 law that banned “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations” among minors and was used to detain gay rights activists.
Under the new law, individuals can be fined up to 400,000 roubles (£5,400) and organisations 5m roubles (£68,500) for “propagandising nontraditional sexual relations”, while foreigners could face up to 15 days’ arrest and expulsion from Russia.
Human rights groups and LGBTQ+ activists say the extension of the law means any act or public mention of same-sex relationships is functionally being outlawed.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, is expected to sign the bill in the coming days. Credit: theguardian.com
