LGBT activist VS deputy Milonov's assistant: two petitions filed to the law enforcement agencies
08.05.2015
An activist filed two petitions for administrative charges to be brought against Anatoly Artyukh for his actions during a picketing protest that had been organized by supporters of the LGBT on April 17, 2015 on the "Day of Silence". The administrative charges against deputy Milonov's assistant and the leader of Narodniy Sobor ("People's Council") can be brought on the grounds of "obstruction of organising and holding meetings" and "discrimination".
The petitioner claims that Anatoly Artyukh, arrived to the place of a one-person picketing protest, repeatedly insulted the young girl who was picketing - as well as other activists, interfered with the protest - he snatched a poster from the hands of the activist, ripping it, which rendered the continuation of the protest impossible. The documents with the request to initiate administrative proceedings under Articles 5.38 of the Administrative Code ("Violation of the meetings, rallies, marches and picketing law") and 5.62 of the Administrative Code ("Discrimination") were sent to the 78 prosecutor's office and police department of the Central district of St. Petersburg, respectively. Copies of the applications were also received by the Commissioner for Human Rights in St. Petersburg A. Shishlov.
Kseniya Kirichenko, the coordinator of strategic legal proceedings at the LGBT group "Coming out": "The Code of Administrative Offences has a special article that provides for liability for discrimination which is a violation of the rights and freedoms of citizens; that includes discrimination on the basis of a social group affiliation. As was clarified by the Constitutional Court, this article should also apply to cases of discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, we do not know of such cases. Moreover, when after Vitaly Milonov's homophobic abuse we petitioned the prosecutor's office to examine his actions on the subject of discrimination, our request was denied, citing a lack of administrative law mechanism for a waiver of the deputy's parliamentary immunity. In this sense, the new incident may demonstrate something - Anatoly Artyukh is not protected by parliamentary immunity therefore there are no formal reasons for denying our request to initiate administrative proceedings".
Note that on April 28, 2015 an LGBT activist petitioned Deputy Chief of Police in St. Petersburg and the prosecutor of the Central District of St. Petersburg to inspect the actions of the police officers who were present at the venue of the protest but did not take any measures to suppress the illegal actions of the opponents of the LGBT.
Press Contact:
- Kseniya Kirichenko, coordinator of strategic legal proceedings at the LGBT initiative group "Coming out": +7 (950) 020 41 55, kseniya@comingoutspb.ru
- Nika Yurieva, communications manager of the LGBT initiative group "Coming out": +7 (950) 020 43 95, nika@comingoutspb.ru
Additional Information: