Russia arrests Chinese LGBTQ blogger for violating same-sex ‘propaganda’ law

Last week, Russian authorities arrested a Chinese LGBTQ blogger, for allegedly violating the country’s law which bans the so-called gay “propaganda,” said their lawyer, Adel Khaydarshin. According to media reports, Chinese citizen Haoyang Xu and his partner Gela Gogishvili, a Russian citizen, document their life as a same-sex couple living in Russia on social media platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Telegram. 

Khaydarshin has since told CNN that after a hearing on Thursday, Haoyang was found guilty and is now being held in a temporary detention centre for foreigners and faces deportation from Russia. Whereas, his partner who was also charged in connection with the law faces fines of up to 200,000 Rubles ($2,463) but has not been arrested yet, said the couple’s lawyer. 

Citing court documents, the media report said that Haoyang was arrested for allegedly posting videos depicting “non-traditional sexual relations” with Gogishvili. It added, “Namely, being males, they kiss each other, hug, touch each other on various parts of the body, including in the genital area, while the description of the videos contains the following, How does a gay couple sleep? Kiss me all night.”

Khaydarshin has also told CNN that the Chinese national has not been deported yet and will be given the chance to appeal the court’s decision. An image and video of Haoyang’s arrest were also posted on the couple’s Telegram account. 

The law in question came into effect months ago after a bill expanding the existing ban on so-called LGBTQ “propaganda” in Russia was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The recently amended law was first adopted in 2013 and also banned the dissemination of LGBTQ-related information to minors.

The footage was found by the police during an inspection of the couple’s YouTube account, said the court documents, adding that nearly 1,800 of the account’s 64,900 subscribers were under 18 years of age, reported CNN. However, these claims could not be independently verified. 

In 2022, the country’s upper house of parliament unanimously voted to make the controversial law more stringent as it now applies to Russians of all ages. Additionally, in the same year, the government also made it illegal for anyone to promote same-sex relationships or suggest that non-heterosexual orientations are “normal,” reported CNN.

(With inputs from agencies)

 

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