Detained participants of gay parade in Minsk got fines

The participants of the rally against homophobia are found guilty of organizing an unauthorized action.

Seven participants of the Slavic gay parade, including members of the organizing committee of St Petersburg gay parade Dzmitry Milkov and Aleksandr Sheremetyev, detained in Minsk last Saturday have been released in the Pershamaiski district court, the website GayRussia.Ru informs.

The court found them guilty of committing an administrative offence connected with participating in unauthorized event and sentenced to fines of 17,500 Belarusian rubles (180 Russian rubles).

About 30 people took part in the Slavic Gay Parade 2010 held in Surhanau Street in Minsk May 15. the demonstrators raised a 12-meter rainbow flag and shouted “No to Homopobia!”, “Equal Rights, No Compromises!”, “Homophobia is a Disease!” and other slogans. Eights people, among them two dwellers of St Petersburg, were forcefully detained by the riot militia. They were pushed into militia cars and taken to the Pershamaiski district militia department. The detainees spent the weekend in a prison in Akrestsin Street.