Overview
- The Ministry of Justice filed its request on February 2, with the Saint Petersburg City Court set to hear the case on February 24 in a closed session due to a secrecy designation.
- If the court grants the request, employees could face up to 10 years in prison and those who cooperate with the group up to six years under Russian law.
- The Russian LGBT Network, active since 2006, has provided legal and psychological assistance and documented discrimination and violence against LGBT+ people.
- The organization was labeled a “foreign agent” in 2021, and its challenge to the extremist designation will be led by council head Natalya Solovyova.
- Authorities have also pursued cases against the LGBT group Vyhod and the Samara organization Irida, indicating a broader campaign targeting LGBT initiatives.