Russian prosecutors have declared Sir Elton John’s HIV charity “undesirable,” effectively banning it from operating in the country.
The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) works to increase access to treatment for HIV and AIDS and provides support for people—often from marginalized LGBTQ+ communities—most affected by the disease.
But the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said on Thursday that the charity “mostly focuses on promoting non-traditional sex, Western-type family models and gender reassignments.”
It also accused the U.K.-based wing of EJAF—which has been condemned alongside its U.S. counterpart—of cooperating with NGOs that act as “foreign agents,” Russia’s state-run press agency TASS reported.
Russia has branded several media outlets and civil organizations “undesirable,” which means they have to stop their work inside Russa or face severe penalties. Its legislation on “foreign agents” also targets such institutions.
President Vladimir Putin has moved to crack down on the country’s LGBTQ+ community in the years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, launching a crusade in the name of “traditional values.”
In 2023, the authorities in Moscow designated the LGBT movement as “extremist” and last year prosecutors brought criminal cases against people working at an LGBT-friendly bar, according to Human Rights Watch. It added that individuals had been fined and detained for hanging up the rainbow flag.
The New York Times (NYT) this week reported that, while the initial crackdown focused on organizations and activists, it was now impacting ordinary people. One man accused of running a travel agency for gay men was allegedly beaten by 15 policemen in December. He was later found dead in a prison cell, the NYT wrote.
Russia’s attack on Sir Elton’s HIV organization comes despite the world’s largest country having the highest rates of HIV in Europe and facing a reported shortage of lifesaving retroviral drugs. Medicines such as Dolutegravir have been unavailable at times since the war started in Ukraine, according to multiple media reports.
Meanwhile, a report by the World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control noted that the number of HIV diagnoses per 100,000 population in Russia in 2023 was 37.9, followed by Ukraine on 31.7 and Moldova on 27. The lowest rate in Europe was 2.1, attained by both Slovenia and Austria.
Russian officials admitted in December that around 30,000 working-age Russians die annually as a result of HIV, while official figures from 2023 said the number of people living with the virus was around 1.2 million. The same year, the independent Novaya Gazeta news outlet reported that infection levels had reached epidemic proportions in 19 Russian regions.
But the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said on Thursday that the charity “mostly focuses on promoting non-traditional sex, Western-type family models and gender reassignments.”
It also accused the U.K.-based wing of EJAF—which has been condemned alongside its U.S. counterpart—of cooperating with NGOs that act as “foreign agents,” Russia’s state-run press agency TASS reported.
Russia has branded several media outlets and civil organizations “undesirable,” which means they have to stop their work inside Russa or face severe penalties. Its legislation on “foreign agents” also targets such institutions.
President Vladimir Putin has moved to crack down on the country’s LGBTQ+ community in the years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, launching a crusade in the name of “traditional values.”
In 2023, the authorities in Moscow designated the LGBT movement as “extremist” and last year prosecutors brought criminal cases against people working at an LGBT-friendly bar, according to Human Rights Watch. It added that individuals had been fined and detained for hanging up the rainbow flag.
The New York Times (NYT) this week reported that, while the initial crackdown focused on organizations and activists, it was now impacting ordinary people. One man accused of running a travel agency for gay men was allegedly beaten by 15 policemen in December. He was later found dead in a prison cell, the NYT wrote.
Russia’s HIV epidemic
Russia’s attack on Sir Elton’s HIV organization comes despite the world’s largest country having the highest rates of HIV in Europe and facing a reported shortage of lifesaving retroviral drugs. Medicines such as Dolutegravir have been unavailable at times since the war started in Ukraine, according to multiple media reports.
Meanwhile, a report by the World Health Organization and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control noted that the number of HIV diagnoses per 100,000 population in Russia in 2023 was 37.9, followed by Ukraine on 31.7 and Moldova on 27. The lowest rate in Europe was 2.1, attained by both Slovenia and Austria.
Russian officials admitted in December that around 30,000 working-age Russians die annually as a result of HIV, while official figures from 2023 said the number of people living with the virus was around 1.2 million. The same year, the independent Novaya Gazeta news outlet reported that infection levels had reached epidemic proportions in 19 Russian regions.
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