Multiple arrests at two LGBTQIA clubs during Coming Out Day in Moscow

The Russian authorities’ repression of the LGBTQIA community is unrelenting.

In Russia, police raided two LGBTQIA clubs in central Moscow on International Coming Out Day, arresting over 50 people.

Police raided the Central Station and the Three Monkeys – both in central Moscow – under the pretext of stopping drug trafficking.

Images circulating on various social media sites show Russian police in riot gear forcing people inside the clubs to lie on the floor and undergo violent searches.

This is the latest episode of violence by the Moscow government against the LGBTQIA community, following the anti-LGBTQIA laws and the Duma’s ban – in 2023 – on gender transitions, and the equation of the international LGBTQIA movement with extremist and terrorist organisations.