GroenLinks Councillor Arrested for ‘Gay Propaganda’
MURMANSK, 23/07/13 - Kris van der Veen, a local council member for the leftwing Greens (GroenLinks) in Groningen, has been arrested in Russia for ‘gay propaganda’.
Van der Veen, himself homosexual, is in Russia for a documentary on gay rights and sought contact with young Russians for this. He said on Twitter that he was arrested by the police shortly before his return to the Netherlands. The council member has since been freed again pending a case at a court in Murmansk. As well as being a council member for GroenLinks, Van der Veen is also chairman of the LGBT foundation for emancipation of gays and transgenders. He is accused of ‘the propagating of non-traditional sexual relations” among minors. As well as him, the Russian gay movement says two other Dutch member of the film crew have been arrested. The three are receiving support from the Dutch consulate. The three are said to have asked minors for their views on homosexuality during the making of a documentary at a human rights festival. This is seen as gay propaganda, something that was recently banned in a new law passed by the Russian parliament. |