Andrei Kotov, accused of “LGBT extremism,” found dead in pretrial detention

The owner of the Men Travel travel agency in Russia, Andrei Kotov, was found dead on the night of December 28 in the Vodnik pretrial detention center. According to Baza sources, it was a suicide.

Security forces detained Andrei Kotov on November 29, Friday. The 48-year-old owner of the travel agency became a defendant in the seventh known case of "LGBT extremism." He was accused of organizing trips around Russia and abroad.

The criminal case materials do not indicate how Kotov participated in the non-existent "LGBT extremist community." In fact, the accusation was based only on the fact that he conducted tourism activities for a target audience of non-heterosexual men.

Kotov refused to admit guilt and said that during the arrest, security forces beat him and tortured him with an electric shock device. A week later, the businessman was sent to solitary confinement and deprived of visits with his defense attorney.

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