Belarus Mulling Law To Punish 'LGBT Propaganda', Reports State News Agency

Belarus News:  The Eastern European country and a closed Russia ally, Belarus, is preparing a draft law which seeks to punish the promotion of LGBT relationships, state agency Belta reported on Monday. The draft law mentions same-sex relationships as "non-traditional relationships" in the proposed legislation.

According to Prosecutor General Andrei Shved's statement to lawmakers, as reported by Belta, a bill has been drafted to introduce administrative penalties for promoting "unusual relationships, paedophilia, and the voluntary decision not to have children."

The news agency also reported that the law is under approval as of now, awaiting an official confirmation soon.

Similar law is already in place in Russia

A law against promoting anti-gay propaganda has been in effect in Russia since 2013, criminalising any public representation or discussion of the lifestyles and behaviours of individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. In December of the previous year, Russia's Supreme Court prohibited what it termed the "international LGBT social movement," categorising it as an extremist organization.

Homosexuality is not a crime in Belarus, still...

Belarus decriminalised homosexuality in 1994, but the country does not recognise same-sex marriages, and authorities have taken a strict stance against LGBT pride parades. President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus has openly ridiculed the LGBT community, referring to gay men as "perverts" and "the ultimate abomination" in a speech to politicians last year. Lukashenko is a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Belarusian LGBT outlets under systematic attack

The proposed law in Belarus is set to impact many news and non-news outlets in the country. A private company in Belarus censored gay personal ads on Apagay.com, later known as Gay.by. The only specialised magazine for the LGBT community, Forum Lambda magazine, published by Lambda Belarus in Russia, faced multiple bans by the State Publishing Committee. The primary source of information about the LGBT community in Belarus is Gay.by, one of the top 10 most visited sites in the country with a monthly audience exceeding 350,000 visitors. However, the website encountered numerous challenges in disseminating information about homosexuality, facing bans from educational institutions and internet cafes.