Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed two controversial laws strengthening the penalties for "propagating homosexuality among minors" and for insulting people's religious feelings in public.
Vladimir Putin has signed the so-called ‘gay propaganda’ bill
after the upper house, the Federation Council, approved it on
June 26 and the lower house, the State Duma, on June 11.
It introduces fines for propaganda of non-traditional sex
relations to minors, including in the media, on the internet and
via viral adverts.
Under the amended law holding LGBT rallies is now prohibited as
well as distribution of information aimed at forming
non-traditional sexual concepts in children, describing such ties
as attractive, promoting the distorted understanding of social
equality of traditional and non-traditional relations and also
unwanted solicitation of information that could provoke interest
in such relations.
Thus, for giving children propaganda about homosexuality -
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community - individuals
could be fined up to 5,000 rubles ($US 152) for such 'propaganda'
and foreigners could be fined the same amount, held in jail for
15 days and deported.
Officials will have to pay up to 50,000 rubles (about US$ 1,500)
and companies – up to 500,000 rubles (about $US 15,000).
Using the media or the internet for the promotion of
non-traditional sex relations carries even harsher punishment.
Individuals will have to shell out up to 100,000 rubles (about
US$ 3,000), while organizations – a million rubles or face a
90-day suspension of activities.
The bill was slammed as “anti-gay” by gay rights activists both
in Russia and abroad. However, the Russian president tried to cut
short the criticism coming from Western countries and, speaking
at the press-conference in Finland earlier this month,
called on them not to interfere with Russian internal
affairs.
“Some countries ... think that there is no need to protect
children from this. We do. We are not going to interfere,” he
said. “But we are going to provide such protection the way
that State Duma lawmakers have decided.”
Meanwhile, one of the recent polls conducted by the All-Russian
Public Opinion Center (VTSIOM) in early June showed that 88 per
cent of Russians supported the amendments to the law. Only 7 per
cent said they are against. Some 54 per cent said homosexuality
should be banned and face criminal liability.
Also on Saturday Vladimir Putin signed another controversial bill
that criminalizes insulting people's religious feelings.
The law allows fines up to half a million rubles (about $15,600)
and up to three years of jail time for people convicted of
intentionally offending religious sensibilities at places of
worship and a year in jail for offenses committed elsewhere.
Premeditated and public desecration of religious objects or books
will also be punished – by fines of up to 200,000 rubles (over
$6,200).
The law was initially advanced in September 2012, half a year
after three Pussy Riot members were arrested for staging an
anti-Putin punk prayer in Moscow’s main cathedral. The three
convicts – Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Ekaterina
Samutsevich – were sentenced to two years in a medium-security
prison for 'hooliganism motivated by religious hatred and enmity'
in August 2012. One of them later had her sentence suspended.
The Pussy Riot case attracted unprecedented attention and divided
Russia’s society into those who think Pussy Riot’s actions
deserve to be punished harshly, and those who think there was no
criminal intent.
The case also prompted wide public discussion both on the limits
of freedom of expression and on the proper punishment for
attacking other people’s beliefs.