Andrei Kotov, a Russian man who had organized travel tours for LGBTQ+ people, has died in pre-trial detention in Moscow, rights groups and Russian media said on Sunday.
In November 2023, Moscow included the “LGBT movement” in a list of banned extremist groups, a move that effectively outlawed LGBTQ+ activism. In January, a nightclub owner was arrested for “extremism.”
Russia has increasingly cracked down on dissent since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
What else do we know about Andrei Kotov?
Kotov, 40, was the director of the travel agency Men Travel.
Last month, he was charged with organizing and participating in “extremist” activities.
The OVD-Info rights group said that Kotov had been accused of creating an “extremist community” for profit and spreading “propaganda of an association recognized as an extremist organization and banned by the court [in Russia].”
Authorities did not specify what “extremist” association he was part of, according to the group.
The group said that Kotov reported having being beaten and hit with a taser during his arrest.
Investigators told Kotov’s lawyer Leysan Mannapova that Kotov had committed suicide, according to OVD-Info activists.
State news agency RIA Novosti also said Kotov had died by suicide. It cited a law enforcement official as saying that “cut wounds” were found on Kotov’s body.
Kotov accused of organizing LGBTQ tours
Russian news agencies and telegram channels close to law enforcement claimed that Kotov had been preparing a New Year’s tour for LGTBQ+ people to Egypt, independent news outlet Meduza reported.
They also said he organized an LGBTQ+ cruise on the Volga River in Russia.
Kotov denied the charges, saying that the trips he organized were ordinary boat trips and fishing trips.
sdi/dj (AP, AFP)
