Russia has banned an Arctic Pride event from happening this month

Lwp Kommunikáció via Flickr

300 gay rights activists were due to march in the Arctic Circle, but Russian police have forced them to cancel the parade.

26th January 2017

 by Lewis Corner

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The Pride event was going to take place on 29 January, but authorities in the Salekhard region of Russia have stopped it, claiming it would be harmful to children’s “health and development.”

The police have enforced the ban on the grounds that it is “propaganda of non-traditional family relationships.”

However, Nikolai Alexeyev – who heads up Russian LGBTI group Moscow Pride – has stated that the decision is in violation of Russia’s constitution that people must have the freedom of assembly.

© Quinn Dombrowski via Flickr

“It will, if necessary, brought to the European Court of Human Rights,” Alexeyev said.

It’s not the first Pride event that has been banned in Russia, with planned marches in St Petersburg, Tula, Tver, Arkhangelsk and Yekaterinburg, among others, all being shut down by authorities.

If the Pride in Salekhard – also known as Polar Pride – would have been allowed to go ahead, it would have been one of the only LGBT+ marches to be held in the Arctic Circle.

The other takes place in Tromsø, Norway in November, and gives crowds a chance to also witness the Northern Lights.

Read more articles from GT, here.