World
Out in the World: LGBTQ news from Europe and Asia
Social media under pressure after a queer teenager’s died by suicide in India
Romania
In an interview on Nov. 23 with Europa FM, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, responding to a question regarding the recent European Court of Human Rights ruling that his nation was in violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights over the issue of same-sex marriages, said that it was his belief that his fellow citizens generally are not ready to uphold the rights of same-sex couples.
The ECHR ruled this past May Romania had failed to enforce the rights of same-sex couples by refusing to recognize their relationships, in a ruling which could eventually force policymakers to expand protections for the LGBTQ community, Reuters reported.
Ciolacu, who is the leader of the Social Democratic Party, told Europa FM that “… the Romanian society is not ready for a decision at the moment. It is not one of my priorities and … I don’t think Romania is ready.”
“I am not a closed-minded person, I … have friends in relationships with a man, I don’t have a problem with that, I am talking now from the point of view of a prime minister.”
ACCEPT, the non-governmental organization in Romania that defends and promotes LGBTQ rights, disagreed with the prime minister’s assessment of the mood of the country regarding LGBTQ rights. In a statement the NGO said:
“Romanian society has embraced European values regarding human rights and demonstrates that it is ready for the adoption and implementation of a set of laws to ensure the protection and legal recognition of LGBTI families. After the sociological research carried out by Accept in 2021, a new study comes to confirm this fact.
The results of the research carried out by the Ipsos initiative in 2023 show that 51 percent of Romanians would support some form of legal recognition of LGBTI families. Moreover, the Bucharest Pride March brought over 25,000 participants to the streets this year — a record number for Romania. The figures that place the march at the top of the street protests with the highest participation in our country are telling when it comes to the solidarity and empathy with which Romanians position themselves in favor of the protection and recognition of all families.”
The government of Romania has filed an appeal of the ECHR ruling, which ACCEPT denounced saying it was “completely reprehensible the Romanian government’s action to contest this ECHR decision.”
The Vatican
Awaiting Pope Francis after he finished his Sunday Angelus last week, guests gathered in the Paul VI Hall for a luncheon made up of the poor and their companions including a group of trans women, who all had a history of personally interacting the pontiff.
More than 1,200 people in all came for the lunch that transformed the hall into a large and unique restaurant for the customary annual lunch with Francis on the World Day of the Poor.
PinkNewsUK reported that the pontiff had invited the transgender women in order to offer them comfort and support, and ensured they received VIP treatment. In fact one of them, Claudia Vittoria Salas, a former sex worker, was seated at the table with Francis himself. Salas, who is a godparent to three of her nieces and nephews in her home country, Argentina, said she did sex work in order to put her children through school.
She told the Associated Press: “Being a godparent is a big responsibility; it’s taking the place of the mother or father. It’s not a game.”
Francis began the lunch with a blessing when he thanked the Lord for this “moment of friendship, all together,” for the meal, and for those who prepared it. The tables adorned with white and yellow flowers offered a colourful backdrop for images capturing an unforgettable moment of welcome, concern, care and love for all those who for the rest of the year live on the streets.
The Dicastery for the Service of Charity organized the event, while Hilton Hotels offered the lunch, dedicating special attention to the menu so that the meal could be enjoyed by people of various faith backgrounds present.
On the menu were cannelloni with Roman ricotta and spinach with a Parmigiano Reggiano sauce, sautéed white meatballs with a velouté of San Marzano tomatoes and basil with a cauliflower purée, followed by Tiramisu and small pastry desserts.”
Ireland
A 13-year-old trans teen from the east of Ireland, from the city of Wicklow located south of Dublin on the Irish Sea, was a keynote speaker at the 2023 Child Talks conference.
Bee Fennell, was one of six youth speakers at the Child Talks conference held at Dublin’s Helix Center for the Performing Arts, addressing the need for further education programs regarding to transgender issues facing Irish youth.
GCN, Ireland’s largest LGBTQ media outlet reported:
Among other issues discussed at the event, including STEM programs for girls and vaping, LGBTQ issues emerged as a serious concern for school-aged children through the country. Fennell used their time on stage at the Child Talks conference to discuss their experience coming out as a trans teen and the lack of resources available for trans youth in Wicklow.
“I wanted to take part in Child Talks 2023 because I wanted to share my story and hopefully encourage others to get the education to be a true ally to the community and to understand what it is like to be transgender,” said Fennell.
During their time on stage, Fennell described how they came out to their family and their school: “I was 12 when I officially came out to my parents and only a few months later, to the primary school that I was attending.”
“Coming out to my school was the biggest step, because it meant everyone knew, it wasn’t just in the house anymore. I remember that night so clearly, mam and I, sitting on the couch, typing an email that was going to change my life.
I talked about my name and gender change and explained what it meant. That email was sent around 7 p.m., outside school hours. We received a response 3.5 hours later, at 10:30 that night.”
Fennell, who uses they/them pronouns, went on to explain how their school set up a meeting to help the then 12-year-old come out to their classmates: “After a terrifying but amazing meeting with my school to discuss next steps, the day came when the teacher would tell the class about who I really was.
Me and two friends I had already come out to went to a separate room to avoid any negative reactions. After the most anxiety-filled half-hour of my life, I was walking up the steps to where my class awaited my arrival. A few friends immediately hugged and congratulated me.”
Unfortunately, as Fennell noted, not everyone’s reaction was so kind.
“Some others just stared. Shocked, confused, some even with disgusted impressions,” they said.
Thankfully, however, the vast majority of Fennell’s classmates were accepting and welcoming, leading the trans teen to report that “At that moment … I was more comfortable in my identity than I have ever been before. I was officially Bee, officially me.”
Bee went on to explain how the LGBTQ organization, BelongTo youth services, helped them discover the community that they’ve always been looking for.
“I had been alone in that fight until I walked into that [BelongTo] youth group. I always knew there was community, sure, it’s in the name. But I didn’t have anyone in my position, having gone through it. I didn’t have anyone who didn’t get confused when I simply introduced myself until I walked into that group,” Fennell concluded.
United Kingdom
An independent Regulatory Commission has imposed an action plan and significant fine on the Luton Town Football Club for misconduct in relation to crowd control at their game against Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League match that was held on Aug. 12.
The Football Association based at Wembley Stadium in London announced that the club has been fined £120,000 ($151,212) after homophobic chanting from fans took place during an away match against Brighton and Hove Albion.
According to the governing body, Luton Town admitted that they “failed to ensure their spectators and/or supporters (and anyone purporting to be supporters or followers) conduct themselves in an orderly fashion; and do not use words or otherwise behave in a way which is improper, offensive, abusive, indecent or insulting with either express or implied reference to sexual orientation.”
In an interview with the local newspaper, Luton Today, a spokesperson for the team said:
“As an inclusive, family-oriented club, Luton Town abhors abusive chanting such as this and has a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination of all kinds. It is not acceptable towards anyone in football or wider society, either in person or online. Those involved were committing a criminal offense and anyone subsequently identified will be issued with a club ban and face potential police investigation.”
The club went on to note that it was working with supporters to help form the Rainbow Hatters supporters’ group for members of the LGBTQ community, who meet regularly to share their experiences of watching the Hatters.
“We will continue to promote the ‘Love Football. Protect The Game’ campaign, which this season has focused especially on fan behavior, and will work further with supporter groups to educate and inform on all forms of discriminatory acts to ensure that watching Luton Town is a safe and welcoming experience for everyone,” the club told Luton Today.
Russia
The Russian Justice Ministry has lodged an administrative legal claim with the Russian Supreme Court to recognize the global LGBTQ rights movement as extremist and ban its activity in Russia.
In a Justice Department press release, LGBTQ Russians were referred to as an “international social movement” by the Justice Minister Konstantin Chuychenko.
The ministry did not specify whether it was seeking the closure of any specific groups or organizations, or if the designation would apply more broadly to the LGBTQ community, causes and individuals, Agence France-Presse reported.
This latest action by the Russian government follows nearly 10 years of the Parliament, comprised of the State Duma, which is the lower house, and the Federation Council, which is the upper house, passing legislation attacking its LGBTQ citizens. In July of this year legislation that will effectively ban the existence of trans Russians was signed into law by President Vladimir Putin.
The law now bans Russians from changing their gender on official government identity documents including internal and external passports, driver’s licenses and birth certificates, although gender marker changes had been legal for 26 years since 1997.
Medical healthcare providers are now banned from “performing medical interventions designed to change the sex of a person,” including surgery and prescribing hormone therapy.
In December 2022, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin issued a decree on Christmas Eve expanding and amending Russia’s “gay propaganda” law signed by Putin. That law set fines for books or media that represented non-straight relationships.
The Justice Ministry in its statement accused the “LGBTQ movement operating on the territory of the Russian Federation” of “various signs and manifestations of extremism, including incitement to social and religious hatred.” If the court upholds the ban as passed, prosecutors will have the power to pursue “terrorism” cases against LGBTQ Russians, especially activists.
Speaking with Agence France-Presse, the head of the Sphere human rights group, which advocates for the Russian LGBTQ community, criticized the announcement.
“Russian authorities are once again forgetting that the LGBTQ+ community are human beings,” said Sphere head Dilya Gafurova, who has left Russia.
Authorities “don’t just want to erase us from the public field: They want to ban us as a social group,” Gafurova told AFP. “It’s a pretty typical move for repressive non-democratic regimes — the persecution of the most vulnerable. We will continue our fight,” he added.
The Supreme Court’s ruling is scheduled for Nov. 30.
A 33-year-old lesbian artist was sentenced by a Russian court to a term of seven years in a penal camp, after she was convicted of spreading disinformation about the Russian army.
Alexandra Skochilenko, who goes by Sasha, swapped supermarket price tags with slogans criticizing Putin’s war against Ukraine. An elderly shopper reported the swapped tags to the police.
Skochilenko is just the latest among thousands of Russians who have been detained, jailed or fined for speaking out against Putin’s large-scale military operation in Ukraine that has cost the lives of tens of thousands Russian, Ukrainian troops and civilians.
Her supporters in the courtroom shouted “shame” and “we’re with you Sasha” after the judge Oksana Demiasheva read out the verdict, an AFP journalist at the sentencing reported. Skochilenko wore a colorful T-shirt with a large red heart printed on it, and she made a heart shape with her hands and smiled to supporters during the hearing.
Addressing Demiasheva, Skochilenko said:
“Your Honor! Every court sentence is a certain message to the public. You may think of this information differently than my lawyers or I do, but you will agree that I have my moral principles and that I haven’t departed from them, not by an inch. You will probably agree that I have shown courage, resilience and fearlessness. In the slang of investigators, to put someone in jail is ‘to take them prisoner.’
And I have not given up under threats of being taken prisoner, of bullying, illness and the 8-year sentence that prosecution has asked for; I have not been hypocritical; I have been honest before myself and before the court.
If you choose to convict me, what message will you send to our fellow citizens? That you have to break if you’re taken prisoner? That you have to lie, be a hypocrite, change your convictions if you face some pressure? That you can’t have pity for our soldiers? That you can’t wish for peaceful skies above our heads? Is it really what you want to say to people in times of depression, instability, crisis, and stress?
My process is widely covered in Russia and in the world; news videos and documentary films are being made, and even books are being written about it. So regardless of the verdict you deliver, you will become part of history. Perhaps you will become part of history as the person who convicted me; perhaps as the person who acquitted me; perhaps as the person who made a neutral decision and gave me a fine, a conditional sentence, or a time that I have already served. It is all in your hands, but remember: Everybody knows, everybody sees that you’re not trying a terrorist in this court. You’re not trying an extremist. You’re not even trying a political activist. You’re trying a musician, an artist and a pacifist.”
“Every person in this room wants only one thing: Peace. Why fight?” she added in her closing statement.
According to the Russian language media outlet Mediazona, federal prosecutor Alexander Gladyshev told the court: “Skochilenko compares the Russian Federation with a fascist state, they [prosecution expert witnesses] explained that in the Russian Federation now there are no elements of a fascist state. The words that Russia attacked Ukraine are false; the purpose of the SVO [special military operation] was to protect the citizens of Donbas from aggression,” Gladyshev said.
Skochilenko’s mother says her daughter suffers from health issues, including celiac disease and a congenital heart defect, adding that a long prison term would be a “catastrophe.”
India
The death of a queer teenager by suicide in the ancient city of Ujjain beside the Kshipra River in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has LGBTQ advocacy groups calling on social media giant Meta to address what one group, Yes, We Exist, to label as “mass bullying on Instagram.
According to the local media outlet Ujjain News, Pranshu Yadav, 16, whose Instagram account has 14,000 followers and more than 300 posts was found hanging in their bedroom on Nov. 21 by their mother who rushed the adolescent to hospital where they later died. Local police are now investigating.
Yes, We Exist highlighted how Yadav, who was attempting to build a career as a professional makeup artist, received more than 4,000 comments on a current Instagram reel, many of which were homophobic.
In the reel they were attacked for wearing a saree in a reel they posted celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights earlier this month. A saree (also spelled sari) is a an outer garment, mainly worn by women from the Indian subcontinent, that is made of about six yards long fabric. A saree, worn with a blouse or choli, is wrapped around the waist over a petticoat with the left end made to hang over the head or shoulder. A saree comes in various types of fabric, color, design and styles.
In India’s culture of toxic masculinity where LGBTQ people are still ill regarded and full equality is years away, the reaction to the queer teen’s Instagram post was almost predictable an India activist told the Washington Blade via a Telegram exchange.
Yes, We Exist now calling on Instagram, which is owned by Meta, to invest in its non-English languages and ensure cyber bullying is tackled.
“We have ourselves reported queerphobic content several times and most often no action is taken. On the contrary, when people call out bullies, they get penalized by Meta,” Jeet, the founder of Yes, We Exist, told PinkNewsUK.
Jeet added that the “tragic loss” Pranshu it is a “devastating reminder of the real-world consequences of online bullying.”
“The LGBTQIA+ community in India mourns not only the individual but also the systemic challenges we routinely face.
The call for greater accountability from platforms like Instagram and from Indian lawmakers who have not prioritized offline and online safety of our community, is urgent to ensure the well-being of young queer individuals like Pranshu.”
Thailand
The Thailand Cabinet approved an amendment to the country’s civil code to allow same-sex marriage, with an expectation for the draft to be submitted to the National Assembly in December, the Associated Press reported.
Deputy government spokesman Karom Polpornklang said the amendment bill proposed by the Justice Ministry seeks to allow same-sex marriage with full legal rights. It will also allow members of the LGBTQ community to build families and ensure both spouses have equal rights.
Karom said the bill’s main principle is to remove the terms “men,” “women,” “wives” and “husbands” from the civil code.
The terms will be changed to “persons,” “fiancées,” “engaged couples” and “married couples,” so men can marry men and women can marry women and have the same rights as male-female unions.
The deputy spokesman said the Cabinet has also called on the Council of State to amend other laws accordingly, so the surviving spouse in a same-sex marriage is entitled to receive the inheritance left behind by their partner.
The Council of State has also been tasked with scrutinizing the same-sex marriage bill, and once that is done it will be submitted to the House, Karom said.
Thai government spokesman Chai Wacharonke said the amendment bill would be different from the Life Partnership Act that was enacted by the last government.
He said this act simply endorses the rights for same-sex couples to spend their lives together but does not provide full legal marital rights.
Additional reporting from Europa FM, PinkNewsUK, The Associated Press, Vatican Press, Mediazona, Agence France-Presse, Luton Today, GCN Ireland and Ujjain News.
Botswana
The rule of law, not the rule of religion
Bonolo Selelo and Tsholofelo Kumile are challenging the Botswana Marriage Act
Botswana was in a whole frenzy as religious and traditional fundamentalists kept mixing religion and constitutional law as if it were harmless. It is not. One is a private matter of belief between you and God, while the other is the framework that protects and governs us all. When these two systems get fused, the result is rarely justice. It results in discrimination.
The ongoing case brought by Bonolo Selelo and Tsholofelo Kumile challenging provisions of the Botswana Marriage Act has reignited a familiar debate in Botswana. Some commentators insist that marriage equality violates religious values and therefore should not be recognized by law. It is a predictable argument. It is also fundamentally incompatible with constitutional governance.
Botswana is not a Christian state. It is a constitutional democracy governed by the Constitution of Botswana. That distinction matters. In a constitutional democracy, laws are interpreted in accordance with constitutional principles such as equality, dignity, protection, inclusion and the rule of law, rather than the doctrinal beliefs of any particular religion.
Religion has no place in constitutional law and democracy
The central problem with religious arguments in constitutional disputes is simple in that they divide, they other, they contest equality and they are personal. Constitutional law by contrast, must apply equally to everyone.
Botswana’s Constitution guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms under Sections 3 and 15, including protection from discrimination and the right to equal protection of the law. These provisions are not conditional on religious approval. They exist precisely to protect minorities from the preferences or prejudices of the majority.
Legal experts, such as Anneke Meerkotter, in her policy brief in Defense of Constitutional Morality, point out that constitutional rights function as a safeguard against majoritarian morality. If rights depended on whether the majority approved of a minority’s identity or relationships, they would not be rights at all. They would merely be privileges.
This principle has already been affirmed in Botswana’s jurisprudence. In the landmark decision of Letsweletse Motshidiemang v Attorney General, the High Court held that criminalizing consensual same-sex relations violated constitutional protections of liberty, dignity, privacy, and equality. This judgment noted that constitutional interpretation must evolve with society and must be guided by human dignity and equality. The court emphasized that the Constitution protects all citizens, including those whose identities, expressions or relationships may be unpopular. That ruling was later upheld by the Court of Appeal of Botswana in 2021, reinforcing the principle that constitutional rights cannot be restricted on grounds of moral disapproval alone. These decisions were not theological pronouncements. They were legal determinations grounded in constitutional principles.
The danger of religious majoritarianism
When religion is used to justify legal restrictions, the result is what constitutional scholars call “majoritarian moralism.” It allows the dominant religious interpretation in society to dictate the rights of everyone else. That approach is fundamentally incompatible with constitutional democracy. Botswana is religiously diverse. While Christianity is the majority faith, there are also Muslims, Hindus, traditional spiritual communities, Sikh and people who practice no religion at all. If the law were to follow the doctrines of one religious group, which interpretation would it adopt? Christianity alone contains dozens of denominations with different views on love, equality, marriage, sexuality, and gender. The moment the state begins to legislate on the basis of religious doctrine, it implicitly privileges one belief system over others. That undermines both religious freedom and constitutional equality. Ironically, keeping religion separate from constitutional law is what protects religious freedom in the first place.
Judicial independence is the cornerstone of Botswana’s governance system
The current case involving Bonolo Selelo and Tsholofelo Kumile is before the judiciary, where it belongs. Courts exist to interpret the Constitution and determine whether legislation complies with constitutional rights. Political and religious lobbying, as well as public outrage, must not influence that process.
Judicial independence is the cornerstone of Botswana’s governance system. According to the International Commission of Jurists, judicial independence ensures that courts can make decisions based on law and evidence rather than political or social pressure.
When governments, political, religious, or traditional actors attempt to interfere in constitutional litigation, they weaken the rule of law. Botswana has historically prided itself on having one of the most stable constitutional systems in Africa. The judiciary has played a critical role in safeguarding rights and maintaining legal certainty. The decriminalization case demonstrated this. Despite strong public debate and political sensitivity, the courts assessed the law according to constitutional principles rather than moral panic. The same standard must apply in the current marriage equality case.
This article was first published in the Botswana Gazette, Midweek Sun, and Botswana Guardian newspapers and has been edited for the Washington Blade.
Bradley Fortuin is a consultant at the Southern Africa Litigation Center and a social justice activist.
Russia
Russian neocolonial politics promote anti-LGBTQ imperialistic values
Influence seen in neighboring countries
The idea that Western colonialism spread queerphobia around the globe is not something new for American millennials and Gen Z. It is well known among them that the British Empire brought “anti-sodomy” laws to some African countries, such as Uganda and Nigeria, as well as to South Asia.
But very few modern American and British people know the history of Russian colonialism, and the way Russian neocolonial politics is ruining the lives of queer people right now, in real time. It’s happening all across Eastern Europe, the Northern Caucasus, and Central Asia. Throughout these regions, the Kremlin promotes imperialistic values that include direct discrimination against queer people.
Let’s start with the most obvious example and move toward the less known ones.
In modern-day Ukraine, LGBTQ rights have become more visible and widely discussed than before the Revolution of Dignity. Even during the war, Ukraine has taken some steps forward in recognizing LGBTQ rights. For example, in 2025 the Desnianskyi District Court of Kyiv for the first time recognized a same-sex couple married abroad as legally married, and in 2026 the Supreme Court made a similar decision. LGBTQ people openly serve in the Ukrainian military.
But the situation with LGBTQ rights in Russian-occupied Crimea and Donbas is completely different.
Ukrainian LGBTQ citizens are persecuted by Russian military forces. Materials with positive LGBTQ representation are banned because of Russia’s “anti-propaganda” laws. Transgender people cannot access gender-affirming therapy. According to people currently living in occupied Donbas, LGBTQ teenagers have been subjected to conversion therapy after being taken from supportive families and sent to Russia.
Russia is not shy about this policy. The war against LGBTQ people — and Ukraine’s growing openness toward LGBTQ rights — has been used as one of the official justifications for Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Russian politicians have repeated this narrative, and so has the leader of the largest Russian Christian church closely connected to the government. In 2022 the head of the Russian Orthodox Church openly claimed that the war in Ukraine was happening because people in Donbas did not want gay pride parades. The claim is absurd. First and foremost, people in Donbas do not want to be bombed — and I say this as someone who was born there.
This blatant Russian attempt to destroy LGBTQ rights on foreign land did not start in Ukraine, just as Russian colonialism itself did not start there. The Soviet Union was famous for criminalizing homosexuality.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Soviet republics gained independence, including the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. Chechen people had many grievances against the Kremlin, including the genocide committed against Chechen and Ingush people by Joseph Stalin in 1944. There was also resentment over the Soviet attempt to erase Chechen identity. Despite Chechens having a completely different culture, language group, and traditions from Slavic Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, the Soviet government tried to assimilate them and make them more “Slavic.”
In the new Russia that emerged after the Soviet collapse, Chechens struggled to rent apartments in Moscow and were frequently ridiculed for being Muslim. Racial slurs like “black-assed” were commonly used against Chechen students in Russia. In 1994, Russia decided to “civilize” independent Chechnya and launched an unprovoked attack, only to lose the war to this small Muslim nation of fewer than one million people in 1997. When Vladimir Putin came to power, he built his popularity partly by launching the Second Chechen War and occupying Chechnya.
Today Chechnya is ruled by Ramzan Kadyrov, an extremely unpopular leader imposed on the region through pressure and blackmail from the Russian military. It was under Kadyrov that the infamous purge of gay people — described in David France’s HBO documentary “Welcome to Chechnya” — began. But the documentary failed to explain the broader context. As many Chechen activists and ordinary people told me — people who refused to give their names to a foreign LGBT outlet because of the risks to themselves and their relatives — Chechen society has never been explicitly queerphobic. Chechens are proud of having traditions of democracy dating back to the Middle Ages and of respecting individual freedom and family rights.
This is exactly where discussions about sexuality traditionally belong in Chechen social norms: inside the family. Family is almost sacred to Chechens. Every Chechen knows seven generations of their paternal ancestors and stays in contact with uncles, aunts, and cousins. Later, Russia weaponized these family structures by blackmailing and torturing even distant relatives of activists.
For generations, matters of sex were considered private family affairs that the state — an independent Chechen state — should never interfere with. This does not mean Chechnya was especially LGBTQ-friendly. Parents and siblings may be queerphobic — or may not — and society would not question it. But police, commenting on private sexual relationships? This is an abomination!
This is exactly what the Russian occupational authorities introduced. They turned the private into the public, kidnapping and torturing queer people as part of a wider colonial campaign of repression. It was never just about gay people. The authorities also targeted people who subscribed to opposition channels online, spoke against the Kremlin, wore the “wrong” clothes or the “wrong” kind of beard, or listened to prohibited music.
It was never just about gay people. In occupied Chechnya, it has always been about colonial control. Moreover, as my Chechen respondents pointed out, “Welcome to Chechnya” tells the story largely from the perspective of Russian LGBTQ activists. Some of them also have colonial ways of viewing the Northern Caucasus. This is why the film “forgets” to mention that many gay people who were rescued by activists left Chechnya with the active help of their own parents and siblings.
Another example of Russian interference in predominantly Muslim nations can be seen in Kazakhstan, one of the largest countries in Central Asia. In the West, it is not widely known that Kazakh people living in Slavic regions of Russia face everyday discrimination. They are often targets of anti-immigrant hatred similar to the way Mexicans are treated in the United States. In everyday life they are frequently called “churkas,” an extremely derogatory racist slur roughly comparable to the English N-word. When I lived in Russia, almost everyone I knew — even progressive people — used this word from time to time against Kazakh immigrants.
Despite all of that, the Kazakh government has aligned itself closely with the Kremlin. Late last year, the Kazakh parliament adopted an anti-LGBTQ law similar to the Russian one. The law followed earlier bans in Kyrgyzstan in 2023 and Georgia in 2024 and prohibits the dissemination of information about “non-traditional sexual orientation,” affecting culture, education, advertising, media, and cinema.
Critics called these laws a “copycat” of Russian policy and part of Moscow’s colonial influence.
“Are we an independent and sovereign republic, or are we a colony of the Russian Federation?” prominent Kazakh LGBTQ activist and feminist Zhanar Sekerbayeva asked during a press conference.
“As an educated and intelligent woman … I cannot understand why lawmakers allow themselves to violate the fundamental law of the constitution,” she said.
It was therefore not surprising that in February 2026 a criminal case was opened against Sekerbayeva for allegedly “promoting LGBT” during a peaceful gathering at the “French Café.” The real reason, however, is more likely not just her LGBTQ activism but her opposition to pro-Russian politicians.
In Georgia, pro-Russian political movements similarly weaponized anti-LGBTQ conspiracies to mobilize opposition against the European Union. These movements falsely claim that Brussels demands “LGBT propaganda” and threatens “traditional family values.”
This conspiracy narrative has even been supported by Belarus’s dictator Alexander Lukashenko, who said he is “scared for Georgia” because Europe allegedly promotes LGBTQ rights there. Of course, Belarus itself has no meaningful legal protections for LGBTQ people — and it is unlikely to develop them while its leadership is protected by the Kremlin.
The list could continue. In Moldova, another post-Soviet country, the last widely promoted study of schooling has shown that LGBTQ teenagers are among the most vulnerable students in schools, facing bullying from peers, parents, and even teachers. Once again, pro-Russian politicians in Moldova actively use anti-LGBTQ rhetoric that contributes to this hostile environment.
Of course, Russia is not the single reason for queerphobia in post-Soviet countries. There are many other factors, from everyday stereotypes to the influence of American fundamentalist groups on local conservative movements. But Russia remains the main force preventing these countries from developing independent LGBTQ policies. Local queerphobia is a target audience for Russia, and anti-LGBTQ narratives have become an inseparable part of Russian neo-colonial politics.
Federal Government
Gay Venezuelan man ‘forcibly disappeared’ to El Salvador files claim against White House
Andry Hernández Romero had asked for asylum in US
A gay Venezuelan asylum seeker who the U.S. “forcibly disappeared” to El Salvador has filed a claim against the federal government.
Immigrant Defenders Law Center, who represents Andry Hernández Romero, on Friday announced their client and five other Venezuelans who the Trump-Vance administration “forcibly removed” to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, filed “administrative claims” under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
The White House on Feb. 20, 2025, designated Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, as an “international terrorist organization.”
President Donald Trump less than a month later invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which the Associated Press notes allows the U.S. to deport “noncitizens without any legal recourse.” The White House then “forcibly removed” Hernández, who had been pursuing his asylum case in the U.S., and more than 250 other Venezuelans to El Salvador.
Immigrant Defenders Law Center disputed claims that Hernández is a Tren de Aragua member.
Hernández was held at El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, a maximum-security prison known by the Spanish acronym CECOT, until his release on July 18, 2025. Hernández, who is back in Venezuela, claims he suffered physical and sexual abuse while at CECOT.
“As a Venezuelan citizen with no criminal record anywhere in the world, I would like to tell not only the government of the United States but governments everywhere that no human being is illegal,” said Hernández in the Immigrant Defenders Law Center press release. “The practice of judging whole communities for the wrongdoing of a single individual must end. Governments should use their power to help every person in the nation become more aware and informed, to strengthen our cultures and build a stronger generation with principles and values — one that multiplies the positive instead of destroying unfulfilled dreams and opportunities.”
Immigrant Defenders Law Center filed claims on behalf of Hernández and the five other Venezuelans less than three months after American forces seized then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, at their home in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.
Maduro and Flores have pleaded not guilty to federal drug charges. Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s vice president, is Venezuela’s acting president.
‘Due process and accountability cannot be optional’
Immigrant Defenders Law Center on Friday also made the following demands:
- The Trump administration must officially release the names of all people the United States sent to CECOT to ensure that everyone has been or will be released.
- The federal government must clear the names of the 252 men wrongfully labeled as criminal gang members of Tren de Aragua.
- DHS (Department of Homeland Security) must end the practice of outsourcing torture through third‑country removals, restore humanitarian parole, and rebuild a functioning, humane asylum system.
- DHS must reinstate Temporary Protected Status for all individuals who cannot safely return to their home countries, halt mass deportations and unlawful raids and arrests, and guarantee due process for everyone navigating the immigration system.
- Congress must pass the Neighbors Not Enemies Act, which would repeal the Alien Enemies Act.
“In all my years as an immigration attorney, I have never seen a client simply vanish in the middle of their case with no explanation,” said Immigration Defenders Legal Fund Legal Services Director Melissa Shepard. “In court, the government couldn’t even explain where he was — he had been disappeared.”
“When the government detains and transfers people in secrecy, without transparency or access to the courts, it tears at the basic protections a democracy is supposed to guarantee,” added Shepard. “What this experience makes painfully clear is that due process and accountability cannot be optional. They are the only safeguards standing between people and the kind of lawlessness our clients suffered. We must end third country transfers, restore the asylum system, and humanitarian parole, and reinstate temporary protective status so this nightmare never happens again.”
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