Russian Gay Travel Agency Owner Found Dead in Custody

By: Paul Goldberg, Senior Editor | JRL CHARTS – LGBT Politics Europe

MOSCOW, RU — (01-01-25) — An alleged gay Russian man who was arrested for allegedly running the Men Travel agency, an LGBT travel agency, was found dead in custody in Moscow on Sunday, said Human Rights group OVD-Info. This is the latest assault on LGBTQ citizens in Russia.

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According to OVD-Info, who tracks LGBTQ political arrests, says that Andrei Kotov, director of the “Men Travel” agency in Moscow, faced charges of “organizing extremist activity and participating in it.”

OVD-Info further stated that an investigator told Kotov’s lawyer that her client was found dead in his cell of an apparent suicide early Sunday morning. Prior to Andrei Kotov’s death, independent media outlet Mediazona, reported earlier this month that Kotov had rejected the charges and said in court that law enforcement officers had beaten him and subjected him to electric shocks during his arrest, even though he hadn’t resisted arrest.

It’s been a little over a year since Russia’s Supreme Court outlawed any LGBTQ activism and ruled that such activity designated “the international LGBT movement” as extremists. Condemnation has come in around the globe on this horrific incident. Needless to say the LGBTQ community of Russia has a long way to go for equality.