On June 3, Pavel Lebedev was attacked by a group of thugs around midnight.
“We were sitting with my boyfriend on a bench near his home, when we were approached by an aggressive group of people. One of them asked for a cigarette. I gave him a cigarette . Then he said, “Hey, you’re that fag! I wanted for long time to meet you.”
Lebedev and his boyfriend tried to leave, but were attacked, QueerHouse reports.
“I was knocked to the ground, kicked in the stomach. Kolya pushed one of the attackers to the ground. We ran into the doorway. They were still rattling on the door for a while and shouting nasty things,” Pavel Lebedev said.
Voronezh gay activist Lebedev with his partner intend to report the attack on the police.
Earlier, Lebedev was attacked in January 2013 in Voronezh by a crowd of angry opponents of the sanctioned gay rally. Then Lebedev was injured, however, none of the attackers was prosecuted.
In 2014, Pavel Lebedev, together with Jaroslav Yevtushenko planned to organize a gay pride parade in the center of Voronezh on May, 26 . The city administration did not agree to sanction the event, so the activists planned to hold pickets. However, participants and organizers received a number of threats of physical violence and decided to postpone their events.
Lebedev became known after holding a number of public protests, especially on Sochi Olympics torch relay rally in Voronezh.
Source – Queer Russia
