At least seven people were fined in Russia for “looking too gay” after a police raid on a nightclub in Tula in February, an analysis of court records by an independent Russian media outlet showed.
They were reportedly hit with charges of ‘trying to arouse interest in non-traditional sexual relations’, which has been outlawed in Russia for a decade.
This charge is mainly directed at those publishing pro-LGBT material – not at those wearing ‘unmanly’ clothing.
Video footage of the police raid shows men in military-style uniforms and helmets detain at least eight people, the Telegraph reports.
The detainees reportedly wore clothing that police suspected promoted ‘non-traditional sexual relations’, according to Verstka.
One man reportedly wore ‘crosses of black tape glued to his nipples’ and a ‘women’s style corset’ on his ‘naked’ body, said a report. Another sported ‘bright orange’ hair and ‘red tattoos on his face’, wore ‘pink socks’ as well as ‘an unbuttoned kimono’, it added.
The arrests come as the Kremlin further pushes its anti-LGBT crackdown in its bid to promote ‘traditional values’, which includes a ban on ‘propaganda promoting a child-free lifestyle’.
A man reportedly wore a crop top, black leather shorts and fishnet tights, noted another description.
The detainees’ clothing was promoting a ‘non-traditional’ sexual lifestyle and their appearance was ‘inconsistent with the image of a man with traditional sexual orientation’, the judges were reported to have said.
While eight people were detained, only seven received a fine – the eight, a male bartender, avoided a fine after arguing that he was goth.
This is not the only time Russian authorities arrested partygoers. In November, police reportedly raided several bars and nightclubs in Moscow under the laws criminalising ‘LGBT propaganda’.
The decade-old legislation under which they were punished is often called Russia’s ‘anti-gay law’.
