Man Accused Of Running Gay Travel Agency Dies In Russian Jail
Image: Image: AP Photo
A Russian man has been found dead in police custody after he was arrested for allegedly running a gay travel agency.
Independent media and human rights defence group, OVD-Info, says that 48-year-old Andrei Kotov was arrested on November 30 and faced charges of “organising extremist activity and participating in it.”
Kotov’s lawyer Leysan Mannapova confirmed to the group that Kotov was found dead in his cell in the Moscow pretrial detention centre early Sunday morning. Investigators allege he died from suicide.
During his court appearance, Kotov told journalists he was beaten during the arrest and tortured with a stun gun in order to “extract the necessary testimony”. The police also searched through his phone and allegedly filmed its contents.
“Despite the fact that I am a psychotherapist by training, I still find it difficult to answer to what degree of post-traumatic stress disorder I suffered and why all these procedures were required,” he said.
Kotov was sent to a punishment cell for 15 days after his arrest, and was reportedly not provided with his prescribed everyday medications.
“Andrey weighs 140 kilograms, he’s a muscle man, a big guy. But it’s hard to carry this weight, he eats all the time, he’s like a panda, and I can’t imagine how he’s surviving in the pretrial detention center now,” Kotov’s friend told the BBC.
The Investigative Committee of Russia, which combats police corruption and misconduct, is reportedly looking into the incident.
Criminalisation of queerness in Russia
The news comes amid an intense crackdown on LGBTQIA+ rights in the country.
In November 2023, the Supreme Court declared the “international public LGBT movement” to be an extremist group, and began arresting people for LGBTQIA+ activism when the law came into effect in early 2024.
Within the last year, the country has also banned all forms of gender transition whether through medical affirmation surgeries or legal methods, banned books with LGBTQI+ themes, and raided gay bars, where they arrested more than 50 people.
