The Ostankino District Prosecutor’s Office withdrew the claim from the Ostankino District Court of Moscow demanding to block the video blogger Karen Shahinyan’s video. “Kommersant” was told about this by the lawyer of the LGBT group “Vyhod” Max Olenichev.
Half-hour video “Gay Adoption: Will You Choose This Russia? # DaVeleu (18+) ”was published on Mr. Shahinyan’s channel in 2020. In it, with references to the works of modern scientists, it tells about the upbringing of children by same-sex couples, the influence of homophobia on minors, as well as about the stereotypes that have developed in society in relation to same-sex families. Activists of the People’s Council movement demanded that the video be blocked for violating the law on “gay propaganda” (adopted in 2013 as amended by Article 6.21 of the Administrative Offenses Code of the Russian Federation, establishing responsibility for promoting non-traditional sexual relations among minors). The applicants did not like the words of Mr. Shahinyan that he would like to achieve the abolition of this norm, since, in his opinion, it “hits both minors and adults, creating a lot of lawlessness and violence”. The author of the video called the law a big problem, misfortune and shame.
The Ostankino District Prosecutor’s Office in the spring of this year appealed to the Ostankino District Court of Moscow and demanded to recognize the information in the video “prohibited from distribution throughout the Russian Federation.” According to Max Olenichev, the court considered the case in ten minutes and fully satisfied the claims of the plaintiffs, who, like Roskomnadzor, did not appear at the meeting. The court recognized the information in the video as “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors.” In March 2021, the video was blocked, the defendant appealed this decision.
In July, the Moscow City Court found the blocking of the video illegal and sent the case for a new trial. “We have provided notarized evidence that the age marking in the video is observed, and people who will confirm that they are over 18 years old will be able to watch it,” Max Olenichev told Kommersant. no, all the requirements of Russian legislation have been met, and the prosecutor’s office decided that there was no point in arguing further and decided to drop the claim itself. “
.