Alleged Russian ‘gay tour’ organizer found dead in prison cell
The owner of a Russian travel agency who was accused of arranging ‘gay tours’ domestically and abroad has been found dead in his cell in Moscow, while awaiting trial on extremism charges.
Andrey Kotov’s body was discovered reportedly showing signs of suicide in the Vodnik pre-trial detention center on Sunday, according to TASS, citing police sources. His death was confirmed by his lawyer Leysan Mannapova, as well as Eva Merkachyova, a member of the presidential Human Rights Council.
The owner of ‘Man Travel’ was arrested in late November. According to the Moscow court system, police believed Kotov was organizing tours that involved “propaganda of the ideology of the LGBT movement.” TASS cited a police official as claiming that Kotov was planning such a trip to Egypt during the New Year holiday season.
Russia outlawed “LGBT propaganda” in 2022, after which “international LGBT movement” was designated as an extremist group.
Kotov denied any wrongdoing and accused police of torture. “My phones have photos and videos of participants going to museums, sailing on a motorboat and sunbathing. It is perfectly clear that these were ordinary tours. There was no propaganda of any kind, let alone extremism,” Kotov said shortly after his arrest.
Throughout 2024, Russian police have raided multiple gay bars and clubs and busted “LGBT gatherings” in major cities. In March, a court in Orenburg, a city near the border with Kazakhstan, ordered the arrest of a manager and an art director of a local gay nightclub named ‘Pose’.
Although homosexuality itself is not banned in Russia, courts and law enforcement have broad discretion in defining what constitutes “propaganda” of same-sex relations.
“Homosexual relationships and propagandizing those relationships are different things,” Human Rights Council chief Valery Fadeev told news agency RBC earlier this month.
“A homosexual relationship, that’s private life. And no one interferes with that. Gays have always been around, in all times, more or less,” Fadeev said.
