Russian Gela Gogishvilli and his partner Haoyang Xu, who is from China, were arrested last month and charged over YouTube videos they made that showed their life as a same-sex couple. Authorities claim the videos violated the countries strict laws that ban depictions of gay people being shown publicly.
While Gogishvilli was quickly released, Haoyang Xu was kept in prison for three weeks with authorities threatening to deport him from the country. He was released last week and the couple have now been reunited.
Gogishvilli spoke to British outlet Pink News, telling them via a translator that the couple had been made an example of, and authorities were hoping to silence them.
Russia’s anti-propaganda laws were introduced in 2013 and forbade information about same-sex relationships being seen by children, but last year they were extended to cover all ages. Homosexuality officially remains legal in the country, but any depiction of same-sex activities in outlawed.
OIP Staff
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