Russian Federation - May 2025

Moscow police arrested 10 and charged 3 employees of the Eksmo, the country’s largest publishing house, with violating anti-extremism laws as part of an investigation into publishing ‘LGBT propaganda’. The case marks a new and significantly broader interpretation of anti-extremism laws as including ‘using one’s official position.’ Prosecutors claim that by publishing books with LGBTQIA+ themes, Eksmo involved readers in the activities of what it calls ‘the International LGBT Social Movement’. Those charged face up to 12 years in prison. The basis for the charges is a list of books including LGBTQIA+ themes primarily published not by Eksmo, but by Popcorn Books, a publishing house which Eksmo acquired in 2023. Eksmo attempted unsuccessfully to avoid prosecution by instructing booksellers to destroy or return all copies of the books in question on 13 May.

Sources: Meduza, OVD Info, The Insider