With our disgust with Philadelphia in the handling of its gay bashing sentencing fresh in our minds (2-plead-guilty-receive-no-jail-time-philadelphia-gay-bashing-case), are we looking to Russia for better punishments in regard to atrocities against LGBTers?
Extremists in Russia who were known to torture gay men on camera after tricking them into attending fake dates have been found guilty of torture, causing damage to health and death threats.
Nine of the men – who claim their remit is to “identify and report pedophiles” were arrested. Six were given custodial punishments of up to six years each, while the sentences for the other three were suspended.
The group would lure victims in, keep them captive, shave their head and sometimes even sexually assault and force-feed them. Many of their crimes were also captured on camera.
Maxim Martsinkevich, the leader of the gang, first came to public attention in Britain after a Channel 4 documentary on the subject and consequently was sent to a labour camp. He has since had his five year sentence reduced after an appeal.
Despite all of this, however, the gang members in question were not found guilty of participating in an “extremist group” which shows a worrying trend of homophobia in Russia after anti-gay laws were passed in 2013. – gaytimes.co.uk
After hearing about the Philadelphia debacle, I was surprised to see this Russian ruling from a government that doesn't seem to care about its LGBT members. We know the incidents in Russia were premeditated and numerous, while the Center City, Philadelphia beatings most likely were not premeditated so punishments should be a little more extreme.
Bravo Russia for handing out more than just community service, a slap on the hand, and a no trespassing clause.
Is this comparing apples to oranges? A little, but So isn't a US / Russia comparison. To have a nation like the US that is supposedly light years ahead on LGBT rights than most other nations in the world to basically look the other way when a violent gay bashing occurred … and to see a nation like Russia that treats its LGBT citizens as less than tolerable actually take a step to protect them … there is a crack in the universe that needs to be fixed.
Source / Pics : gaytimes.co.uk