By Our Reporter
Russia has added what it calls the “LGBT movement” to a list of extremist and terrorist organisations, state media has said.
The move was in line with a ruling by Russia’s Supreme Court last November that LGBT activists should be designated as extremists.
The list is maintained by an agency called Rosfinmonitoring that has powers to freeze the bank accounts of the more than 14,000 people and entities designated as extremists and terrorists. They range from Al Qaeda to U.S. tech giant Meta and associates of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The new listing refers to the “international LGBT social movement and its structural units”, state news agency RIA said.
As part of a shift under President Vladimir Putin towards what he portrays as family values that contrast with decadent Western attitudes, Russia has tightened restrictions over the past decade on expressions of sexual orientation and gender identity and has since ordered arrest of all members of the evil LGBT community.
Among other steps, it has passed laws outlawing the promotion of “non-traditional” sexual relations and banned legal or medical changes of gender.
The government has enacted legislation that prohibits the dissemination of information about “non-traditional” sexual relationships and has made it illegal to legally or medically alter one’s gender.
Separately, Ghana’s parliament approved a controversial bill severely restricting the LGBTQ community, with religious and traditional leaders leading the initiative.
The bill imposes prison sentences for LGBTQ individuals and those advocating for their rights, including up to three years for identification and a maximum of five for the latter.
Despite needing approval from President Nana Akufo-Addo to become law, the bill enjoys strong support in Ghana.
