An LGBT rights activist from southern Russia has fled to the Netherlands after facing threats of prosecution from law enforcement and of retribution from conservative vigilantes.



The English-language Moscow Times and the Russian-language Don News report:

Russian LGBT Activist Receives Dutch Asylum After Police Threats

An LGBT activist fled southern Russia for the Netherlands after facing threats of prosecution from law enforcement and retribution from conservative vigilantes, she said in an interview [Jan. 28].

Anna Dvornichenko has said that authorities in the city of Rostov-on-Don refused to investigate two attacks — one with pepper spray and another with a smoke bomb — against her that took place in the same week last summer. Instead, Dvornichenko said anti-extremism officers had threatened to prosecute her for her activism.