Gay activists beaten up at Moscow demo

Riot police used violence to break up a gay rights demonstration in Moscow on May 27 and arrested several European parliamentarians. A group of gay rights activists came under attack from neo-Nazi thugs when they tried to present a petition asking Moscow's mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, to lift a ban on a Gay Pride parade. He has previously dubbed gay rallies "satanic." Witnesses said riot police watched as far-right skinheads chanting "death to homosexuals" beat up several activists. The police failed to arrest the skinheads but detained several of the Europeans -- including the German Parliamentarian Volker Beck, a member of the Green party, and Italian European Parliament member Marco Capatto. Riot police threw Capatto into a police van. "Why don't you protect us?" he shouted. "It was absolutely shocking," said gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. "The police stood there while people knocked me to the ground and kicked me. Four or five neo-Nazis attacked me. The police watched. At a certain point the police then arrested me and let my neo-Nazi attackers walk free." Richard Fairbrass, the lead singer in the pop group Right Said Fred, was also assaulted. Fairbrass was left with a deep gash under his left eye and blood pouring down his face after receiving several blows to the head, while trying to speak to journalists. About 31 demonstrators were detained by police and later released. Tatchell described the eruption of violence at the banned protest by about 100 demonstrators, held to mark the 14th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Russia: "We arrived at City Hall and were immediately surrounded by neo-Nazis, who began to crowd and infiltrate our group. The Moscow police and riot squad gave them a free hand to attack people. I was punched in the eye, pushed to the ground, and kicked all over my body by six people. The riot police then moved in and arrested me, allowing my attackers to go free." Tatchell accused the Moscow police of colluding with the anti-gay protesters, claiming: "There seemed to be a connivance between them. They only began arresting the neo-Nazis when it was clear that journalists had footage of the attacks." He was escorted to a local hospital to assess the extent of his injuries, then taken to the police station to make a statement, before being released without charge. Beck and Capatto were similarly subjected to punches before being arrested and questioned by police.