Human Rights Watch -THE WEEK IN RIGHTS - February 6, 2014

Russia: Sochi Games Highlight Homophobic Violence


Photo credit by © 2013 Reuters 

Less than 72 hours ago, Human Rights Watch published a video showing the dreadful treatment of LGBT people in Russia. The video, which also shows brave LGBT activists fighting for their rights, has now been viewed more than 1.7 million times.

One of those activists, Gleb Latnik, describes the impunity he faces: “I went to the police to submit a claim and the officers at the station just said ‘That’s alright, you’re gay, so it’s normal that you were attacked. Why would you need to submit a claim against someone?’ That’s how it goes.”

The Russian authorities have the power to protect the rights of LGBT people, but instead they are ignoring their responsibility to do so. By turning a blind eye to hateful homophobic rhetoric and violence, Russian authorities are sending a dangerous message as the world is about to arrive on its doorstep for the Olympics that there is nothing wrong with attacks on gay people.

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World Report 2014 Purchase the hard copy of the 2014 World Report or download the PDF for free.

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