13-year-old Russian kid prosecuted for "LGBT propaganda" after he shared a video he found online - LGBTQ Nation

Police in Russia charged a 13-year-old schoolboy for “LGBT propaganda” and displaying “extremist” symbols after he shared an unidentified video with classmates. Parents complained, prompting an investigation. His identity was withheld to protect his privacy. In Russia, symbols associated with LGBTQ+ identity, including rainbows, are classified as “extremist.” The classification followed a 2023 Supreme Court determination banning the “international LGBT movement” as an extremist organization. A lawyer said the boy was not trying to spread propaganda and acted as a joke. The case was treated as administrative under laws targeting “gay propaganda,” which apply to Russians 16 and older, so it was transferred to a regional Juvenile Affairs Commission. After reviewing evidence, the commission issued a warning to the student.

"Police in Russia charged a 13-year-old schoolboy for "LGBT propaganda" and displaying "extremist" symbols in May, after he shared an unidentified video with his classmates, and their parents complained, reports. His identity was withheld to protect his privacy. Any number of symbols associated with LGBTQ+ identity are now classified as "extremist" in Russia, including rainbows. The designation came into effect with the Russian Supreme Court's determination in 2023 that the so-called "international LGBT movement" is an "extremist" organization and now banned in the country."

""He wasn't trying to spread propaganda. He doesn't even know what that is," a lawyer representing the schoolboy told Mediazona. She described his actions as "a joke for the sake of a joke." "Something clicked, his hormones kicked in - he wanted to make a joke, to say something. Adults thought it was complete nonsense, that he was promoting something," the lawyer explained."

""The internet is something that's accessible to everyone. Even children can go online, come across [these kinds of videos], and show them to someone else. And the authorities consider this a form of propaganda," she said. The boy's charging falls under both Russia's "gay propaganda" laws, first instituted in 2013 and expanded in 2022, as well as the overlapping "international LGBT movement" designation. But violations of those laws are administrative offenses, which apply only to Russians 16 and older, so police transferred the case to a regional Juvenile Affairs Commission."

Read at LGBTQ Nation