Nikolai Alekseyev was convicted under the new homosexual propaganda ban and he is currently challenging the constitutionality of the law. The ICJ filed an amicus brief.
The activist was arrested and fined for holding up a sign quoting a famous Soviet era actress, who said: “Homosexuality is not a perversion. Field hockey and ice ballet are.”
The ICJ brief argues that the St. Petersburg law violates the right to freedom of expression, guaranteed by both the ICCPR and the European Convention on Human Rights. The homosexual propaganda bans are not only vague, they also fail the tests of proportionality and necessity and discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, all contrary to human rights law.
The case is currently pending. A hearing scheduled for 27 September 2012 was postponed due to the recusal of one of the judges.
For more information on the homosexual propaganda bans, see the ILGA-Europe ICJ briefing paper.
Russia-homosexual propaganda ban challenged-ICJ Amicus Brief-2012 (full text in PDF)
Russia-homosexual propaganda ban challenged-ICJ Amicus Brief-2012-ru (full text in PDF)