A Russian man arrested for allegedly running a travel agency for gay clients was found dead in custody in Moscow, human rights group OVD-Info reported Sunday, amid a crackdown on LGBTQ rights in Russia.
According to OVD-Info, which tracks political arrests, Andrei Kotov, director of the “Men Travel” agency, faced charges of “organizing and participating in extremist activities.”
OVD-Info said an investigator told Kotov’s lawyer that his client had committed suicide early Sunday morning while in pretrial detention and was found dead in his cell.
Before Kotov’s death, the independent media outlet Mediazona reported earlier this month that Kotov had rejected the charges and told the court that law enforcement officers beat and shocked him during the arrest, even though he did not he resisted.
Just over a year ago, Russia’s Supreme Court effectively banned any LGBTQ activism in a ruling that designated the “international LGBT movement” as extremist. The move exposed any member of or associated with the community to criminal prosecution and imprisonment, creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.
The LGBTQ community in Russia has been under public and legal pressure for more than a decade, but especially since the Kremlin sent troops to Ukraine in 2022. Russian leader Vladimir Putin has argued that the war is a proxy battle with the West, which , according to him, aims to Destroy Russia and its “traditional family values” by pushing for LGBTQ rights.
