World Press on hate crime in Russia (May 13, 2013)

Today BBC published on its website an article entitled “Arrests over 'anti-gay' murder in Volgograd Russia”. The article follows the investigation and background of a gruesome hate crime. “Police in southern Russia are questioning two men over a murder they are treating as a homophobic attack. The victim's naked body had been dumped in a courtyard in the city of Volgograd. His skull was smashed and he had been sodomised with beer bottles. Officials quoted by Russian media say the suspects had been drinking with the 23-year-old man and turned on him when he told them he was gay. One of the suspects had been a classmate of the victim, reports say”, the article reads.“The body was discovered on Friday after Victory Day celebrations in Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, which are held annually to mark the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. The two suspects are aged 22 and 21. The 22-year-old had previously been convicted for burglary. The viciousness of the attack sparked numerous comments in Russian social media. The state-owned television channels - the main source of news for most Russians - did not report the case prominently. But it was widely reported in the newspapers, including in the government-owned Rossiyskaya Gazeta”, the article underlines. “There are fears that homophobia may be increasing in Russia, fuelled by legislation banning gay parades and dissemination of "homosexual propaganda". In January a bill banning "homosexual propaganda" passed its first reading in the Russian parliament. The second reading is planned for 25 May. The bill envisages a nationwide ban on events promoting gay rights and big fines for the organisers. A similar law is already in force in St Petersburg. The European Court of Human Rights has fined Russia for banning gay pride marches in Moscow,” article says.The article concludes with a report that “a prominent gay activist in Russia, Nikolai Alexeyev, says the gay community has asked the Moscow authorities for permission to hold a march in the city centre this month, despite the previous refusals. The request offered two dates - 25 or 26 May - to celebrate 20 years since Russia stopped treating homosexuality as a criminal offence”.