A gay activist is missing after he was attacked and arrested by his own parents in Russia.

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

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.

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.

As Gay Russia reports, the mother and father helped the authorities escort their son to the car where he was taken to the police station.

It followed another protest on the Saturday (29 June) where it is alleged police told Isakov they would murder him.

According to gay rights activist Nikolai Alekseev, Isakov is now missing. The last time the 24-year-old used the social networking site Vkontakte was Sunday, just before his second protest.

He said: ‘[Isakov] was beaten, insulted and threatened by police and his current location is not known! We need maximum attention to his case! He might be in real danger!’

GSN has contacted Kazan Police for confirmation of the arrest, but has not yet received a response.

Kazan will host the FIFA World Cup in 2018.