The Moscow City Court on Thursday
upheld a lower court's ruling banning Gay Pride parades in Moscow
until the year 2112.
The ruling comes after gay rights
activists attempted an end run around City Hall by submitting last
year requests to hold such events for the next 100 years.
The court dismissed the requests and
issued a 100-year ban on Gay Pride parades, Gayrussia.ru reported.
Nikolai Alexeyev, who helms GayRussia,
told the website that he would appeal the decision to the European
Court on Human Rights in Strasbourg.
“This ruling reminds us that Pride is
every bit as meaningful today as it was after Stonewall in 1969 –
millions around the world are still fighting for the basic right to
live openly and love who they choose,” Andre Banks, executive
director of human rights group AllOut.org, said in a statement.
“Much like that memorable summer, this fight will continue and it
will be successful.”
In May, the administration of Moscow
Mayor Sergey Sobyanin rejected the activists' application to hold a
Gay Pride event in the city for the seventh year in a row.
Former Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov
aggressively shut down any unauthorized pro-gay demonstrations, which
he called “Satanic acts” and “one of the factors in the spread
of HIV infection.”
The City Duma is currently debating an
ordinance which would ban “homosexual propaganda” similar to one
already in effect in St. Petersburg.