MENU
Documenting
war crimes in Ukraine

The Tribunal for Putin (T4P) global initiative was set up in response to the all-out war launched by Russia against Ukraine in February 2022.

LGBT Equality March banned in Kyiv

24.05.2013   
The District Administrative Court in Kyiv banned the march on application from the Kyiv City State Administration. The ban officially covers all but official events on 25 May, though clearly the target was the March for Equality.

Unconstitutional and totally inconsistent, however it would be wrong to say that the ban on the LGBT rights March for Equality scheduled for 25 May was unexpected.

The District Administrative Court in Kyiv banned the march on application from the Kyiv City State Administration.  The ban officially covers all but official events on 25 May, though clearly the target was the March for Equality.

The organizing committee for Kyiv Pride 2013 said that they had been prepared for the ban. They added that they were awaiting a meeting with a representative of the Mayor’s office before deciding on another format for the event.  They will consider changing the place or time, but are not abandoning plans to hold the March.

The Mayor’s office claims that the ban was in the interests of members of the LGBT community and says that it had had 5 applications to hold counter-demonstrations

Ukraine has not once had an LGBT March.  Last year’s planned march was cancelled because of the threat of violence against participants and the fact that the police could not guarantee participants’ safety.

Sviatoslav Sheremet, Head of Ukraine’s Gay Forum, was brutally beaten up after he attempted to hold a press conference instead of the march.

From a report at the BBC Ukrainian service. Photo: Anatoly Stepanov, Reuters

 Share this