Russian man arrested for allegedly running LGBTQ+ travel agency 'found dead in his cell'

A Russian man arrested for allegedly running a travel agency for gay customers has died in pre-trial detention in Moscow, amid a major crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community, according to human rights group OVD-Info.

The group, which tracks political arrests, said Andrei Kotov, who was an entrepreneur and director of the “Men Travel” agency, faced charges of “organising extremist activity and participating in it”, as per The Associated Press news agency.

It was not specified by authorities what “extremist” association he was part of, the group said.

In November last year, the Kremlin included the “LGBT movement” in a list of banned extremist groups, effectively making LGBTQ+ activism illegal.

But it also exposed anyone in the community or even connected to it to criminal prosecution and prison, ushering in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.

According to OVD-Info, an investigator told Kotov’s lawyer that her client had taken his own life early Sunday while awaiting trial and was found dead in his cell.

Earlier this month, independent media outlet Mediazona reported that Kotov had rejected the charges and alleged in court that law enforcement officers beat him and administered electric shocks during the arrest, despite him not resisting.

The LGBTQ+ community in Russia has been under legal and public pressure for over a decade but especially since the Kremlin sent troops to Ukraine in 2022.

In 2013, the Kremlin adopted the first legislation restricting LGBTQ+ rights, known as the “gay propaganda” law, which outlawed any public endorsement of “nontraditional sexual relations” among minors.

Since the war began, Putin has argued that the war is a proxy battle with the West, which he says aims to destroy Russia and its “traditional family values” by pushing for LGBTQ+ rights.