Russia has fined a gay rights activist the maximum fine just for giving advice to LGBTI teens on social media.

Sergei Alekseenko, director of the LGBTI group Maximum, was found guilty of violating the country’s ‘gay propaganda’ law in Murmansk, north-western Russia.

He was ordered to pay 100,000 rubles ($1,300, €1,200).

Alekseenko was found guilty of posting on Maximum’s web page that presented homosexuality in a positive light to children.

In one, he was trying to combat the myth that to be gay meant being evil, or wrong, or disgusting.

‘Children! To be gay means to be a person who is brave, strong and confident in themselves. A gay person has a sense of dignity and self-respect. A gay person loves someone of the same gender, and there is nothing wrong in that.’

Aleksenko’s group was also told to cease operating.

‘Russian authorities use the ‘gay propaganda’ law to harass and intimidate LGBT activists into silence,’ said Tanya Cooper, Europe and Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch.

‘Sergei Alekseenko will be appealing the district court’s verdict and the prosecutors should not oppose Alekseenko’s appeal.’