II. Banned, Beaten, Jailed: the Demonstration of May 27On May 14, Moscow Pride organizers submitted to Mayor Luzhkov official notification of plans for a human rights march on May 27. On May 15, Moscow city authorities stated that after a meeting between city administration officials and the organizers of the gay pride parade, the latter received an official refusal for this event [A] gay pride parade would violate the rights and interests of other citizens, contravening applicable laws.5 Moscow Pride organizers denied that any meeting had taken place, or any refusal had been received. To inaugurate Moscow Pride 2007, a conference on human rights took place at the Moscow Swissotel on May 25-26. Russian participants were joined by foreign activists from Austria, Belarus, France, Moldova, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries, as well as member of the German Bundestag Volker Beck; member of the Italian Parliament Vladimir Luxuria; and Sophie Int Veld of the Netherlands and Marco Cappatto of Italy, members of the European Parliament. On Saturday, May 26, the LGBT Network Russia, Free Radicals, and Green Alternative held a demonstration in Pushkin Square to protest homophobia and xenophobia. The request to City Hall for authorization had not mentioned homosexuality, and about 15 police protected some 40 demonstrators. On the same day, nationalists organized two large protests against Moscow Pride. At Slavyanskaya Square, the ultra-Orthodox Peoples Union had assembled some 300 people. The independent press reported shouts of Our scouts will be in the center tomorrow. Faggots wont get through! Beside the All-Russian Exhibition Center, a larger crowd gathered, assembled by neo-Nazi groups. Russian National Socialist leader Dmitry Rumiantsev told the audience, I hear tomorrow there will be some sort of parade. Happy hunting, wolves!6 Originally, organizers of Moscow Pride 2007 had planned a larger-scale march down Tverskaya Street. However, they scaled this back at the last minute. On the day of the planned pride events, May 27, a few LGBT supporters, including Nikolay Alexeyev, Beck, Cappatto, Luxuria, and Int Veld, planned to approach City Hall on Tverskaya Street at noon with a petition. Signed by 49 European parliamentarians, the petition asked Mayor Luzhkov to permit demonstrations in support of gay rights. As noon approached around 30 other participants gradually gathered across the street, at Tverskaya Square near the statue of Yuri Dolgoruky. Most were not formally connected with Pride organizers, and many did not know of the organizers final plans, but wished to show support. As one told Human Rights Watch, I knew that some activists were going to demonstrate for lesbian and gay rights, and I simply wanted to take part.7 Those not directly involved with the pride organizers made up the majority of those later arrested. Representatives of Human Rights Watch and the European Region of the International Gay and Lesbian Association (ILGA-Europe) arriving at Tverskaya square at 11 a.m. found it already barricaded off by Moscow police. Small groups of skinheads and nationalist extremists began to infiltrate the area around it. When Pride leaders approached City Hall at noon, a group of homophobic nationalists surrounded them.8 Regular and riot police (OMON, Otryad Militsii Osobogo Naznachenya) immediately arrested Nikolay Alexeyev, Nikolay Khramov of the Russian Radicals, and Sergey Konstantinov of the Free Radicals, dragging them to a detention truck. A Human Rights Watch representative witnessed Konstantinov being seriously manhandled by police, who wrenched his head back by the forehead. OMON also arrested two Russian transgender activists. Nationalists continued to attack the others physically. One struck British gay activist Peter Tatchell in the left eye, bruising it; others kicked his legs after he fell. Tatchell was not arrested, but police took him to a different truck for his safetyplacing him there, however, with three extremists who had been arrested.9 Police also seized Bundestag member Beck together with his partner, and manhandled them by the arms across Tverskaya Street to another truck waiting near the Dolgoruky statue. They also arrested Marco Cappatto and Ottavio Marzocchi, a European Parliament staffer. An ILGA-Europe representative witnessed OMON officers shouting at the latter as he was thrown into the truck, Do this in your own country, faggot! These arrested people were taken to nearby Tverskaya police station, on Bolshaya Dmitrovka Street. Across Tverskaya Street from City Hall, where groups of LGBT rights supporters had gathered, OMON formed four lines stretching across the sidewalk, and began marching down the street towards Red Square. They pushed peaceful and violent demonstrators alike away from the vicinity of the Dolgoruky statuebut rather than making any effort to separate the two sides, OMON forces drove both back towards one another. Skinheads and nationalists intensified attacks on people they believed to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender as the police advanced. Nationalists beat Alexey Kiselievmember of the LGBT Rights group and a co-organizer of Moscow Pridein the head till he bled, kicking him after he fell. Kisiliev told ILGA-Europe,
One witness told Human Rights Watch, I ran back to the OMON and said, Will you just try to stop them from beating him up? And they stood there in line and did nothing. The LGBT people were completely non-aggressive, not even holding posterstheir only crime was being themselves.11 Similarly, Alexey Kozlov, a member of the environmental and left activist group Green Alternative, saw a nationalist carry out a violent attack on a supporter of LGBT rights:
OMON appeared to be colluding actively with the violent nationalist demonstrators. One of the nationalists approached an OMON officer and pointed out a Human Rights Watch representative; the officer immediately seized the representative and took him to the OMON truck. (The Human Rights Watch representative was detained for only 15 minutes, then freed13).In a reminder of the environment of impunity, a lesbian told Human Rights Watch, One of these aggressive people said to me, Go to hellremember, we have the upper hand.14 The OMON ranks broke formation further down Tverskaya Street, and small groups of LGBT people and their supporters began trying to ascend the street, hoping to reassemble near the statue. Alexey Kisiliev told ILGA-Europe, I hobbled to Tverskaya Square Many of the women were members of the Anti-Dictatorship Movement, an informal group of activists. One told Human Rights Watch,
5 Moscow bans gay pride parade for the second time, Pravda, May 15, 2007. http://english.pravda.ru/russia/history/15-05-2007/91472-gay_parade-0 (accessed May 18, 2007). 6 Gay Parade United European Parliamentarians, Riot Police (OMON), t.A.T.u. and the Nationalists, Novaya Gazeta, May 28, 2007. 7 Human Rights Watch interview with Fernanda von Manstein (her name among lesbian and gay friends), Moscow, May 27, 2007. 8 Sophie Int Velt, who was not arrested, saw a man with a knife among the nationalists. Message from Sophie Int Velt distributed by gayrussia.ru on email listserves, May 27, 2007. An ILGA-Europe representative permitted to enter a detention truck to assist the non-Russians saw an airgun that had been confiscated from the attackers. 9 An ILGA-Europe representative joined Tatchell and other non-Russians in the truck as interpreter. 10 ILGA-Europe interview with Alexey Kisiliev, Moscow, May 27, 2007. 11 Human Rights Watch interview with I.M. (full name withheld at her request), Moscow, May 27, 2007. 12 Human Rights Watch interview with Alexey Kozlov, Moscow, May 27, 2007. Kozlov still limped from his injury at days end. 13 The reason for his release is not clear. Reactions of the officers suggested it may have been due to the fact that he carried only a paper copy of his passport, which would have complicated the bureaucratic processing of his arrest. 14 Human Rights Watch interview with Fernanda von Manstein, Moscow, May 27, 2007. 16 Human Rights Watch interview with Mariya Markelova, Moscow, May 27, 2007. |