Gay Activists ‘Not Guilty’ In Russian Vote Protest

Thirteen gay activists have been cleared of any charges in a December election protest. The crowd gathered at a polling in station and destroyed their ballots to protest the government’s gay-exclusive policies. Pink News UK provides more details:

Thirteen activists were detained inside the polling station, among them the organisers of Moscow Pride Nikolai Alexeyev, Nicolas Baev and Alexei Davydov.
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Mr Alexeyev was arrested after he wrote “No to homophobes, no to Luzhkov” on his ballot.

In Russia, spoiling the ballot is a form of protest.

Today a Moscow magistrates court ruled that none of the arrested protesters would be prosecuted. Two police officers who allegedly took part in detaining the activists were questioned by magistrates.

Great! Now Alexeyev just needs to tackle those slander charges for last year’s political outing.