Russia urged to release detained publishing workers amid LGBTQ+ crackdown News
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Russia urged to release detained publishing workers amid LGBTQ+ crackdown

Amnesty International on Thursday demanded the release of book publishing professionals who have been detained in Russia amid the country’s “anti-LGBTI campaign,” calling on officials to drop all criminal charges against the individuals.

Amnesty International’s Russia director Natalia Zviagina said: “In their ruthless campaign against LGBTI people, Russian authorities have now come after book publishers, accusing them of ‘extremism’ for merely doing their job: bringing books to readers. This shameless heavy-handed use of state apparatus against literature is as absurd as it is terrifying.”

The demand comes just days after Russian authorities arrested several employees of Popcorn Books for releasing titles centred on queer narratives and other marginalized voices, with Russian officials accusing the individuals of having distributed “extremist materials.” Amnesty International denounced these arrests as an attack on freedom of expression and identity, warning that the decision to prosecute publishers could criminalize literary and cultural work that merely affirms queer existence.

In March, a Russian state financial watchdog labelled the “LGBT public movement” as a terrorist organization. The Russian Supreme Court also labelled the LGBTQ+ movement as “extremists” under new legislation in December 2023, sparking international condemnation by human rights organizations. Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch Tanya Lokshina stated: “The assault on LGBT rights has become a symbol of Russia’s rejection of universal human rights, as the government positions Russia as the defender of so-called traditional values in opposition to ‘the collective West.'”

Further, Russia’s upper house of parliament approved two laws last November prohibiting the visibility of LGBTQ+ people in media and banning citizens of other countries that allow gender transitioning from adopting Russian children. Russian security forces also raided several bars and nightclubs in Moscow last December as part of efforts to combat what they classified as LGBT propaganda.

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