{"id":19261,"date":"2018-08-10T11:53:36","date_gmt":"2018-08-10T09:53:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ilgrandecolibri.com\/?p=19261"},"modified":"2021-10-23T16:15:19","modified_gmt":"2021-10-23T14:15:19","slug":"belarus-lgbt-activist-fined-for-solitary-mass-protest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ilgrandecolibri.com\/en\/belarus-lgbt-activist-fined-for-solitary-mass-protest\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarus LGBT Activist Fined for Solitary \u201cMass Protest\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 24 March this year a Belarusian girl, Viktoria Biran, wanted to protest against an article that had appeared a few days before on the website of the interior ministry of her country, where the LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersexual and asexual) community was described as “false,” as was their fight for civil rights and the \u201cLGBTI community day<\/em>\u201d they had proclaimed. The ministry was acting in retaliation against the UK embassy, whose \u201cfault\u201d had been to have displayed a rainbow flag as an act of solidarity towards discriminated Belarusian sexual minorities<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Viktoria then decided to protest by writing \u201cYOU are false<\/em>\u201d on an A4 paper sheet<\/strong> by hand, then went before the buildings of the interior ministry, of the committee for state security (i.e. the secret service) and the main government building and was photographed while holding the sheet.<\/p>\n

A solitary \u201cmass protest\u201d<\/h3>\n

The Belarusian regime\u00a0condemned Viktoria<\/a> to pay a fine equivalent to slightly less than 160 Euros for violating the procedures provided by the law for the organization of “mass events<\/em>,\u201d<\/strong> thus covering itself with ridicule. The \u201cmass\u201d was in fact nobody else but Viktoria and another person who took the pictures.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis sentence is simply absurd<\/strong>,<\/em>\u201d said Marie Struthers, director of Amnesty International for eastern Europe and central Asia. \u201cViktoria\u2019s protest lasted not more than three seconds and she was alone, apart from the person who took a picture of her. It is inconceivable that this should seriously be considered as a \u2018mass protest\u2019.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Alessandro Garzi<\/strong>
\ntranslation by Alex<\/strong>
\n\u00a92018 Il Grande Colibr\u00ec
\nphoto: Amnesty International<\/p>\n

Read also:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Petition for Chechen Gays: 5 Activists Arrested in Moscow<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n