The Central district magistrate court in Saint Petersburg has postponed the trial of two LGBT activists Sergei Kondrashov and Igor Kochetkov. They were detained for picketing against the city's anti-gay law on April 7. They are accused of homosexual propaganda. The Chief witness, police officer Valery Afanassiev, testified that the activists were detained because they held posters postulating that a "Lesbians' way of life is normal", which contradicts the new propaganda law. It forbids the comparison of LGBT to "normal" life and calling homosexuality "normal."
The judge said she cannot sentence the activists under the new law since she has no protocol on "gay propaganda."
The court, she says, will only investigate the case of civil disobedience to lawful order of police officer.
The next trial date is April 23.
Kondrashov and Kochetkov were detained on April 7 near Oktyabrsky concert hall in Saint Petersburg. They may become the first to be sentenced under the new law forbidding the gay propaganda, adopted in Saint Petersburg on March 11.
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