Aleksandra Kuzik was charged with “illegal production and distribution of pornographic material” after writing fan fiction about the homosexual K-pop group Stray Kids in 2022, which was later discovered by her mother on her daughter’s electronic devices.
Kuzyk, a 36-year-old photographer and stylist, told the LGBTQ health site. Paani+ At the time of her indictment, no printed version of her fan fiction novel existed. She said her mother discovered the material through her daughter’s Telegram subscription and took screenshots of LGBTQ-related posts and sex scenes from fan fiction site Ficbook.
The mother then sent the screenshots to Roskomnadzor, the Russian federal executive agency responsible for monitoring, controlling and censoring mass media, telecommunications and information technology.
Police traced the case back to Kuzik and seized books and electronic equipment from her residence, including two laptops, an iPad, two smartphones, and 20 CDs.
Prosecutors had asked for a four-year prison sentence for Kuzyk, who admitted to writing fan fiction as a longtime hobby but said he had never earned any income from it. Authorities said the distribution of gay love stories violated Russia’s ban on “LGBT propaganda,” which prohibits content deemed to promote “non-traditional sexual relations.”
On May 8, Kuzik was sentenced to 18 months of forced labor and 10% of his income to be seized by the state.
In 2023, the Russian Supreme Court will declared The “International LGBT Movement” is an “extremist organization” that weakens Russian society and is said to be associated with opponents of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Shortly after, authorities began a sweeping crackdown on nightclubs, bookstores, saunas and other places where LGBTQ people were believed to gather.
Since Russia expanded its “LGBT propaganda” law (originally banning LGBTQ-related content only to minors) to include adults, authorities have sought to purge Russia of content that acknowledges non-heterosexual identities, such as health information and other content that neutrally portrays homosexuality and same-sex relationships.
Over the past few years, Russians have been charged with displaying images, clothing and symbols related to the LGBTQ community. In 2024, law enforcement even raided a “My Little Pony” convention for allegedly promoting homosexuality because some of the characters were identified as gender nonconforming and believed the rainbow-colored unicorn symbolized support for LGBTQ rights. Just recently, a man was deported for posting a positive review of a leather miniskirt, according to an independent Russian news outlet. mediazona.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
