Gay-rights activists protest Putin in Trieste

(ANSA) – Trieste, November 26 – Veteran gay-rights campaigner and former Italian lawmaker Vladimir Luxuria led a protest in Trieste Tuesday against Russian President Vladimir Putin in Italy for a Russia-Italy summit. “There’s a cold and violent wind coming from the East, a wind of repression and silence for human rights. Trieste must remain an open door to dialogue and not to repression,” said Italy’s first transgender MP before protesters. Russia has triggered loud criticism since it adopted a ban on homosexual “propaganda” among minors in June, which opponents say turns rights on free speech and assembly backwards. Hundreds of banner-waving demonstrators were gathered outside talks between Russian and Italian ministers, which included Italian Premier Enrico Letta. “Human rights can’t be sold off in bilateral deals,” added Luxuria. “It’s okay to talk about the economy, but we must lift the veil of silence on dissent that exists in Russia and other Eastern European countries. I hope for a civil society that makes human rights a focal point”. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED