Two gay men are at the center of a trial because they adopted children in Russia.
Russia’s Investigative Committee announced on Wednesday that it has opened an unprecedented criminal case against two Moscow social workers. The government is upset that the officials allowed a gay couple to adopt two boys back in 2010, according to AFP.
“Nothing like this has happened before,” said lawyer Maksim Olenichev of Vykhod (Coming Out) support group based in the northwestern city of Saint Petersburg.
Vykhod has gotten involved and plans to represent the family because “we think we need to defend this family from the actions of the state.”
If found guilty of any crime, the two officials could be fined or sentenced to community service. And the government could then turn their heads towards the two kids (now close to being full grown adults) or the gay couple. Or as Olenichev says, “it could give the state the opportunity to demand the annulment of the adoption.”
“We think this is unacceptable as the family is established,” he added.
Currently, there is no law in Russia against a gay couple adopting children, though there is a law against unmarried singles who live in countries that allow same-sex marriages.
Despite the couple being in their legal right, the Investigative Committee has already accused the gay man who adopted the two now-teenaged-boys of “propagandising non-traditional values” to minors, which is a crime under the anti-propaganda law.
The investigators claim the couple has caused the boys to have “distorted ideas about family values, harming their health and moral and spiritual growth.”
“This is the next twist in that law,” said Olenichev.
To defend against this claim, Olenichev and company reached out to a psychiatrist who says that the boys are developing “absolutely normally.”
We’ll keep you updated as the story continues.
