By John Mack Freeman
A gay rights rally in central Moscow was broken up on Saturday, May 30th by the Russian police. The police detained over 20 people, including some anti-gay protesters that had attacked the gay rights rally.
The rally was held after Moscow denied the group the right to hold a rally within the city for the tenth year in a row. Via Reuters:
Activists at Saturday’s meeting on Tverskaya Square near the city center were heavily outnumbered by black-clad riot police who had lined the square in advance.
“It is lawlessness of Moscow’s and Russian authorities – what is happening here is a complete lawlessness,” said Nikolai Alexeyev, a leading Russian gay rights activist, as he was dragged into a police van with a bleeding hand. “We are just trying to hold a peaceful human rights action.”
Reuters witnesses saw some of the anti-gay activists attack peaceful gay activists before they were separated by police.
Two pro-gay activists on a quad bike, waving rainbow-colored flags and letting off orange smoke, were charged by the anti-gay activists and dismounted on Tverskaya Street, the main road leading past Tverskaya Square.
