Nikolai Alekseev was Geneva-bound at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport a week ago. What has happened since then could have come from a Cold War spy story.

After passing through airport security, Alekseev — an outspoken gay rights activist and lawyer — was detained by several unidentified men. They were not in any kind of uniform. The airport police allowed him to be detained in the airport and then removed from the airport to a town about 80 miles outside of Moscow. While still in the airport, Nikolai managed to contact a Russian news service and some colleagues to let them know what had happened before his phones were confiscated.

Friends and colleagues went to the airport to find out more information and were told that Alekseev had refused to remove his shoes and had been detained for security purposes. The Russian police have yet to say anything at all.

But it was evening in Russia, and there were no officials available to question. It was still only early in other parts of the world, however, and by nightfall in San Francisco, California, Marriage Equality USA activists were at the Russian consulate (with their own translator!) demanding to know what had happened to Nikolai Alekseev.

The following day, text messages began to arrive in Moscow. The messages, sent from Nikolai’s Swiss mobile phone number — the one he uses when he worries about the security of his Russian one — stated that he’d been persuaded to drop the case he’d filed with the ECHR against Moscow mayor, Yuri Luzhkov, and that he was claiming political asylum in Belarus.

Alekseev has 10 cases pending, involving the repeated bans on gay pride marches.

His friends and colleagues started texting the number back, asking Nikolai questions only he could answer. The sense of urgency increased when they received no replies. Activists in Minsk also had not seen him, and said so to their friends in Moscow.

During this time, Nikolai says he was drugged and repeatedly pressured to withdraw the cases against Russia and also to call a halt to Tuesday’s march protesting the Mayor’s homophobic comments.

After this they began to talk about the picket against Luzkhov.  “Aren’t you tired of this yet?  Don’t you see how complicated it is?”  All this was accompanied by words like “faggot”, “pederast”, “homosexual”, etc.  I immediately replied that my name didn’t appear on the application for the Tuesday picket, and that I could recall nothing else about it.  They insisted that I was nonetheless the formal organiser.

They gave me water in an already-filled glass to drink; and I began to have doubts relative to the composition of the water.  For the period of two days I lost concentration, and felt some kind of emotional unresponsiveness. Only several hours after my return to Moscow today did I understand that there was a purpose to all this.
from English translation of Nikolai Alekseev’s Live Journal account

He was returned to the outskirts of Moscow the following day, as a result, he says, of intense pressure from activists and politicians who were contacted by concerned people in several countries.

The protest did go ahead as planned yesterday, with eleven participants being arrested, including a French journalist who was covering the protest. It is possible the newfound spotlight is helping the activists now. According to Alekseev, he has never been treated so well or efficiently in police custody.

“Today it was like a VIP service at the police station,” Mr. Alekseev said on his release. “The police did everything to write the protocols and get rid of us as fast as possible.  We have been charged for taking part into an unsanctionned event only and not for disobying police orders.  As a result, the maximum sentence is a fine. My case is scheduled for Oct 6.

“I have never seen any such service from this police station in the last five years that I have been regularly taken there when conducting our actions,” he said.
UK Gay News

All photos from GayRussia.ru

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