Putin signs bill banning LGBTQ propaganda in Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin has passed a bill banning so-called LGBTQ propaganda in Russia, in the latest crackdown on human rights in the country.

The new laws broaden the scope of a 2013 law that banned the dissemination of LGBTQ related information to minors. The ban on promoting such information is extended to adults as well.

The new laws make it illegal to promote or praise LGBTQ relationships, publicly express non-heterosexual orientations, or suggest that they are normal. The package of amendments signed by Putin includes heavier penalties for those who promote non-traditional sexual relations and preferences, as well as pedophilia and gender transition. It will be banned from the internet, media, books, audiovisual services, cinema, and advertising under the new law.

Under the new law, individuals can be fined up to 400,000 rubles $6,370 for LGBT propaganda and up to 200,000 rubles $3,185 for demonstrations of LGBT and information that encourages a change of gender among teenagers. The fines can be up to 5 million rubles $80,000 and 4 million rubles $64,000 for legal entities.

The law was approved by Russia's upper and lower houses in recent weeks.

In 2017 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the law in 2013 is discriminatory, promotes homophobia and violates the European Convention on Human Rights.

The court found that the law did not serve a legitimate public interest, rejecting suggestions that public debate on LGBT issues could influence children to become homosexual or that it threatened public morals.

In Russia, homophobia and discrimination are still rife, despite the fact that homosexuality was decriminalized in 1993. It is ranked 46th out of 49 European countries for LGBTQ inclusion by the watchdog ILGA-Europe.

Before Putin signed the bill on Monday, Tanya Lokshina, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch said: "The 2013 gay propaganda law is an unabashed example of political homophobia, and the new draft legislation amplifies that in broader and harsher ways."