Moscow Gay Pride organisers have filed a European Court of Human Rights lawsuit against Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, accusing him of ignoring pleas to intervene in a longstanding dispute with the Mayor over the city's ban on the event. Moscow's Pride March had been planned for May last year but Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov refused to grant a permit, reports 365gay.com. Pride organizers had sent him a letter asking him to intercede in the dispute. The lawsuit accuses Medvedev of breaking a Russian law that requires the President to reply to appeals within a 30 day period. "It's a pity that the President, even though he proclaimed that he would fight for human rights, did not interfere and put an end to the unlawful actions of Moscow officials," says activist Nicolas Alexeyev. Moscow's Mayor has called gay activists "Satanic" and banned Pride events in 2006 and 2007.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Thursday, 12th February 2009 - 10:16am