A Russian newpaper has been accused of
violating the nation's law prohibiting “gay propaganda” to
minors.
After the Molodoi Dalnevostochnik
ran a story about a teacher in the cit of Khabarovsk who was fired
over his sexual orientation, it received a notice claiming the story
broke the law.
Alexander Yermoshki, an eighth-grade
geography teacher and a gay rights activist, was let go after
teaching in the same school for 18 years. Yermoshki was the target
of a group called the Movement Against Sexual Perversions, which
asked for his removal because he could influence children into
thinking that “nontraditional relations are as normal as
traditional ones.”
Molodoi Dalnevostochnik quoted
Yermoshki saying, “My very existence is effective proof that
homosexuality is normal.”
The regional office of the Federal Mass
Media Inspection Service (FMMIS) charged that the statement “goes
against logic. By offering it to underage readers, the author is
misleading them about the normality of homosexuality.”
According to The
Guardian, the paper could be fined and closed for 90 days.