Russian man prosecuted for sharing ‘LGBT Propaganda’ pic of Queen in drag
Queen in the music video for I Want To Break Free (EMI)
A Russian man was prosecuted last March for spreading ‘LGBT propaganda’ on social media.
However, following an appeal against the conviction, it was revealed that the image in question was of the band Queen from their ‘I Want To Break Free’ music video.
Moscow resident David Gevondyan, who is 22 years old, was given a fine for his post on European social media site VK.
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In his appeal, Gevondyan argued that he had not violated the law and that Queen’s outfit choices did not constitute ‘LGBT Propaganda’.
According to Verstka, the court rejected his argument, noting that Gevondyan’s page also showed photos of men kissing and men dressed in miniskirts. He was fined an undisclosed amount for all of the images.
The court stated: “The posting of a photograph of Queen members dressed in women’s clothing on the website has no musical connotation, given the general meaning of the information disseminated by D. M. Gevondyan.”
The ruling also noted that “public approval and the promotion of the attractiveness of non-traditional sexual relations is dangerous not only for children and young people who are not yet capable of critical thinking, but also for society as a whole, as it poses a threat to the country’s demographic growth and economic development.”
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