Russia has repeatedly broken the European Convention of Human Rights by discriminating against members of the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, an international court ruled Tuesday.
Ruling from Strasbourg, France, the European Court of Human Rights said Russia violated the convention by rejecting dozens of permit applications filed between 2009-2014 by LGBT activists wishing to hold rallies.
“[T]he ban on holding LGBT public assemblies imposed by the domestic authorities did not correspond to a pressing social need and was thus not necessary in a democratic society,” the court wrote in its ruling.
“The Court also finds that the applicants suffered unjustified discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, that that discrimination was incompatible with the standards of the Convention and that they were denied an effective domestic remedy in respect of their complaints concerning a breach of their freedom of assembly.”
A representative for the Russian Embassy in D.C. did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Launched in 1959, the the European Court of Human Rights was established to handle alleged violations of the post-war agreement drafted earlier that decade.
Russia has been a member of the convention since 1997, though state-run media reported that Moscow with considering withdrawing as recently as earlier this year.
The same court issued a similar ruling in 2010 after Moscow banned a gay pride rally scheduled for the Russian capital.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.