UK Gay rights activist Peter Tatchell was among several Gay Pride marchers attacked by protesters in Moscow during yesterday's fracas, but says he will continue the fight to protect gay Russians from violence. Moscow riot police stood by while as Tatchell was punched in the face, throttled, then dragged to the ground and kicked all over his body, the activist told Pinknews.co.uk. Clutching a bloody eye, he was arrested by the riot police. "They arrested me, but let my attackers walk free,” he told reporters. Police say they are investigating the assault. "I'm not deterred one iota from coming back to protest in Moscow," Tatchell now says. "Gay Russians need overseas support to protect them against state and neo-Nazi violence." There is no rule of law in Moscow,” Tatchell continues. “The right to protest does not exist. This is not a democracy. "Today's protest was about much more than gay rights. We were defending the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest for all Russians, gay and straight.” Yulia Volkova and Lena Katina, of the pop group t.A.T.u., did turn up at the protest, but were quickly evacuated from the scene by their entourage when eggs were thrown at their car. Richard Fairbrass, a gay singer with the British pop group Right Said Fred, was punched in the face and kicked by anti-gay activists while speaking to Reuters in an interview. "We understand this is a gay event and so we came down here today," Fairbrass said before being hit. Blood dripped from his face after the attack. Volker Beck, a German green party politician and gay rights campaigner, was hit in the face with eggs before being detained by riot police. "We didn't do anything," he said as he was led away. Up to 20 other activists have been arrested and it has been confirmed that organiser Nicolas Alexeyev will not be released. A picture of an injured Tatchell in the ambulance is on the first link below. Ref: Pinknews.co.uk (m)