The case will be considered by the European Court of Human Rights and centres on the outlawing of last year's parade by authorities in Moscow. Despite the ban, some activists turned up to take part in the march, but were detained by the police and abused by Christian protestors and neo-fascists.
Nikolai Alekseev is the organiser of the Moscow event and is one of those bringing the libel suit. He says the mayor's comments were extremely offensive:
"On 29 January we sent an official complaint against the Russian Federation to the European Court of Human Rights concerning the banning of the first ever gay pride march in the Russian capital on the 27 May last year."
"On the same day, 29 January, the Moscow mayor gave a speech in which he said that gay parades are Satanic happenings and of course we found these statements insulting to us."
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| Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov |
Mayor Luzhkov isn't the only opponent of the parades: Russian clergy have also condemned them. Until 1993, homosexual acts in Russia were punishable by prison terms of up to five years, but now Nikolai Alekseev believes, public opinion is changing:
"If you look at the opinion polls, you will say that about 30 percent of the population do not care if someone conducts a gay parade - they're saying that if they have this right, let them go."
The plan for this year's parade, pencilled in for 27 May, is to stage a political protest about human rights for gays and lesbians in Russia. Mr Alekseev says his country is backwards in terms of gay rights in comparison with western nations:
"If you look at the first parades that took place even in London and Paris, in New York and other cities, you will see that they were all political manifestations of the rights of this social group of homosexual people and this is exactly what we planned last year in Moscow and this is exactly what we're planning this year."
"We are not going to make a carnival like it is in Europe or in America, we're going to conduct a political action in support of the rights of homosexual people."
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Listen to Nikolai Alekseev |
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Whatever the outcome of the case in the European Court, Mr Alekseev believes the ban will eventually be lifted on holding the parade. Already, Russian officials have been questioned about their position on gay rights by the Council of Europe and local authorities may eventually be obliged to allow the parades to take place.
"I'm absolutely convinced", says Nikolai Alekseev, "that maybe not this year but next year we will have Pride which will be officially authorised by the authorities."
Tags: European Court of Human Rights, gay, libel, Luzhkov, Mayor, parade, pride, Russia, satanic, sue