The Russian gay activist who went missing after being attacked and arrested by his own parents is safe.

Dmitry Isakov, a 24-year-old, was arrested twice in Kazan in the western Republic of Tatarstan on 29 and 30 June.

After he was arrested, gay activists said Isakov had not been heard from after he had gone to the police station.

Last night (1 July), Isakov posted on his social networking site VKontakte page he was free, but is suffering from injuries he got from the police.

‘My left leg is badly swollen, my left knee is twice as big as the right,’ he said, according to Gay Russia. ‘Even an old granny with a crutch would overtake me on the street.

‘I’ve never noticed before how many steps I have to overcome.’

The young activist had attempted to get permission from authorities to hold a gay pride march in the Russian city, but was denied.

He decided to go on his own and held a placard in protest against the decision.

The sign Isakov held read: ‘To be gay and to love gays is normal; to beat gays and kill gays is criminal.’

On the same weekend, the Russian president Vladimir Putin had signed the ‘non-traditional relationships’ propaganda bill into law effectively making homophobia legal.

But it was his parents that helped to arrest Isakov on the Sunday, with his father helping police to bring him to the ground as his mother snatched the poster from his hands. They then helped the authorities escort their son to the car where he was taken to the police station.

But Isakov said his parents were not at fault, claiming they were under severe pressure from police and society to help in the arrest.

When asked why he could not have told people earlier about his whereabouts, he said he had lost his phone after the protest on Saturday.

He had gone to his job as a bank clerk yesterday, where he did not tell his colleagues about his weekend.

‘Your support is very important to me. I love you all,’ Isakov said.

Kazan will host the FIFA World Cup in 2018.