Two gay men in Moscow face up to 20 years in prison after being arrested for having sex by an open window. According to a Baza telegram channel report from today, the men will have to spend 2 months in a detention center while the crime is investigated.
The men are being charged with “Violent acts of a sexual nature against children under the age of 14,” which has a maximum penalty of 20 years. This after two boys aged 12 and 13 allegedly saw the men having sex and told their mothers who contacted authorities.
21-year old Timur and 22-year old Daniil stand accused of having sex with each other on the windowsill of an open window in their Moscow apartment. One of the defendants has told authorities that they undressed to fix a water pipe in the bathroom.
While sex between same-sex partners has been legal in Russia since 1993, the country is still notorious for it’s anti-LGBTQ legislative efforts and the lack of protections offered to LGBTQ Russians. Last year, the European Court of Human Rights called Russia’s ban on same-sex unions a violation of human rights. Russian legislators recently proposed to extend a “gay propaganda” law that was passed in 2013 and that has been used to stop pride events and LGBTQ activism in the country.