Russia: Man Dies After Arrest for Running LGBT Travel Agency

Andrei Kotov, the director of Men Travel, a travel agency accused by Russian authorities of organising LGBT tours, was found dead in his cell at the Moscow Vodnik pretrial detention centre.

The 48-year-old businessman had been in custody since his arrest on 30 November for organising and participating in “extremist” activities.

Kotov’s lawyer, Leysan Mannapova, confirmed his death to OVD-Info, an independent human rights organisation monitoring politically motivated persecution in Russia.

According to Mannapova, investigators informed her that Kotov had died by suicide on 29 December.

His detention and death occurred one year after the Russian Supreme Court designated the “international LGBT movement” as an “extremist organisation”.

Allegations of Torture

According to OVD-Info, Kotov was detained by security forces at his Moscow apartment. He later told journalists in court that he was beaten and tortured with a stun gun during his arrest to coerce a confession.

He maintained that his work involved organising “ordinary” tourist trips, which he told security officers when he was arrested. “They told me: ‘No, that’s not right, for gays,’” Kotov said in court, adding that his phone, which contained intimate information, was searched by security forces.

“Despite the fact that I am a psychotherapist by training, I still find it difficult to answer to what degree of PTSD I suffered and why all these procedures were required,” he stated during the proceedings.

Shortly after his arrest, Kotov was sent to a punishment cell for 15 days. Reports suggest he was denied warm clothing, food, and necessary medication during his confinement.

Extremism Charges

Russian authorities accused Kotov of creating “an extremist community in which propaganda of the ideology of an association recognised as an extremist organisation and banned by the court in the territory of the Russian Federation was carried out.”

The Investigative Committee claimed that Kotov and others “who supported the views and activities of the extremist organisation” conducted trips and public events, and posted images online that undermined “traditional family values”.

According to their statement, these actions created a “false impression among citizens about the institution of marriage enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.”

The Investigative Committee has launched an inquiry into Kotov’s death. According to reports from Kommersant, cuts were found on Kotov’s body. Authorities have preliminarily classified his death as suicide.

Crackdown on LGBT-Related Activities

Numerous other individuals were arrested on the same night as Kotov during “anti-LGBT propaganda” raids on gay clubs in Moscow. Twelve of those detained were found guilty of “petty hooliganism.”

Participating in an extremist organisation can result in up to 12 years in prison. Displaying symbols associated with these groups can lead to detention of up to 15 days for a first offence and up to four years in prison for a second.

These incidents highlight the ongoing persecution of LGBT+ people in Russia by President Vladimir Putin’s increasingly repressive and authoritarian regime under the guise of protecting “traditional values”.