On 20th June, 2017 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia’s ‘anti-propaganda’ legislation is in breach with human rights.

The federal law was adopted in 2013 and bans the “promotion” or “propaganda” of homosexuality, bisexuality and transgenderism.

The Court found that the law breaches the right to freedom of expression (Article 10) and the prohibition of discrimination (Article 14).

The Court found that although the laws in question aimed primarily at protecting minors, the limits of those laws had not been clearly defined and their application had been arbitrary. Furthermore, it held that “by adopting such laws the authorities reinforce stigma and prejudice and encourage homophobia, which is incompatible with the notions of equality, pluralism and tolerance inherent in a democratic society.”

“This historic decision by the European Court of Human Rights is particularly relevant to Lithuania. The court has unequivocally stated that laws can not discriminate against a particular group of people. The Lithuanian Law on the Protection of Minors Against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information differs little from its predecessor in Russia. We hope that the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights regarding the case Bayev vs. Russia will encourage Lithuanian legislators to eliminate the discriminatory provisions of this law, ” stressed Vladimir Simonko, Executive Director of the National LGBT* Rights organization.

Vice-chair of the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBTI Rights, Sophie in ‘t Veld MEP, reacted: “The judgment is an important precedent in the European context, establishing that laws may never discriminate against a specific group of people. We should also look at EU Member States: Lithuania’s anti-propaganda law, which is similar to the Russian one, is still in place, while the European Commission refuses to step in. Lithuania is having no regard to human rights, which are at the heart of the European project. This is unacceptable. It is time for the European Commission to protect the rights of all Lithuanians, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex Lithuanians. They should ensure that this case law is also implemented in the EU context.”