Russian man imprisoned for organising LGBTQ tours dies in custody

A Russian man detained for organising travel tours for LGBTQ people has died in pre-trial detention, rights groups and Russian state media reported Sunday.

Andrei Kotov, the director of travel agency Men Travel, was charged last month with taking part and organising “extremist” activities, in the Kremlin’s broad crackdown on anyone deemed not to have a lifestyle that aligns with its “traditional values”.

The OVD-Info rights group cited Kotov’s lawyer as saying investigators told her that the man had died by suicide at dawn on Sunday.

OVD-Info said that 40-year-old Kotov had reported he was beaten during his arrest last month.

Russia’s RIA Novosti state news agency also said Kotov had committed suicide.

Late last month, state media published a video of Kotov being questioned on the floor by security officers.

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Russia — for years an inhospitable environment for the LGBTQ community — earlier this year included the “LGBT movement” into a list of banned extremist groups.

Russia has led a massive crackdown on dissent during its Ukraine offensive and has also accelerated a longstanding crackdown on LGBTQs, as it takes an increasingly social conservative turn.