“Бок о Бок” filed a complaint with the ECHR over the disruption of film screenings

“Бок о Бок” LGBT Film Festival filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights in connection with the disruption of film screenings in St. Petersburg on November 12-19, 2020. The organizing committee of the film festival claims that the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms has been violated, namely, Article 10 on freedom of expression.

“Бок о Бок” LGBT Film Festival has been operating since 2008, and during this time the organizers have had to face accusations, provocations and threats more than once. In November 2020, during the public offline film festival, the organization was brought to administrative responsibility in the form of suspending the organization's activities for 15 days and sealing the site, and the audience who came to the film festival was asked to leave in a rude manner.

The complaint “Бок о Бок” to the ECHR states that the restrictions applied in the form of suspension of activities were not proportional to the alleged violations. Moreover, Rospotrebnadzor could issue an order to eliminate them, which representatives of the film festival would have fulfilled without the need to cancel the events.

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