A senior diplomat at the Dutch embassy in Moscow has been bashed in his flat, in an apparent anti-gay attack. The diplomat, named by Russian media as Onno Elderenbosch, was reportedly tied up by men posing as electricians. Russian reports say he was beaten, and that the attackers wrote a heart on a mirror in lipstick with the letters LGBT. BBC reports tensions were already strained between the two nations, with the arrest of a Russian diplomat in the Netherlands last week prompting an apology. He had been held for several hours on suspicion of mistreating his two young children, prompting President Vladimir Putin to demand the Dutch apology. The Dutch foreign minister later conceded that police had breached the rules on diplomatic immunity. The Netherlands has also launched legal action to free 30 people from several countries including New Zealand, who have been detained in Russia after their Greenpeace ship was boarded during an oil rig protest. There has also been criticism from the Dutch government over Russia’s anti-gay propaganda law.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 19th October 2013 - 10:05am