Strasbourg (France) (AFP) - The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday blasted as discriminatory Russian legislation banning the promotion of homosexuality.

Strasbourg (France) (AFP) - The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday blasted as discriminatory Russian legislation banning the promotion of homosexuality.

The court said such laws "reinforced stigma and prejudice and encouraged homophobia," which was "incompatible with the values of a democratic society".

Under the legislation, "promoting non-traditional sexual relationships" among minors was made an offence punishable by a fine in Russia.

Three gay activists -- Nikolay Bayev, Aleksey Kiselev and Nikolay Alekseyev -- had staged protests outside a school, a children's library and a government building holding banners that said homosexuality was not a perversion.

They were subsequently fined and appealed against the ruling in Russian courts. But their complaints -- right up to the Constitutional Court -- were unsuccessful.

Police detain a gay rights activist during a Gay Pride event in St. Petersburg, June 29, 2013. REUTERS / Alexander Demianchuk

The Constitutional Court said the ban was justified on the grounds of protection of morals and spoke of the potential dangers of "creating a distorted impression of the social equivalence of traditional and non-traditional marital relations".

They then filed applications with the European rights court in 2009 and 2012.

The Strasbourg court said the fines imposed on them breached Article 10 (freedom of expression) and Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) of the European Convention of Human Rights.

It ordered Russia to pay 8,000 euros ($8,900) to Bayev, 15,000 euros to Kiselev and 20,000 euros to Alekseyev in damages.

Although homosexuality was decriminalised in Russia in 1993, prejudice is common and human rights activists allege widespread abuse.